System and method for arranging and presenting interactive preshow sessions to an audience

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for presenting interactive content, to members of an audience having visible access to a common display screen, as part of a pre-show that precedes presentation of featured display content. Social network messages are received at a server. Each of the messages originates at, and is received from, one of a plurality of mobile devices executing a client application. The server forwards at least some of the received messages to a projector, which in turn projects the messages to the display screen as posts within a social network “page”. Concurrently, the received messages are transmitted over a wireless local area network to mobile terminals executing the client application. The client application initiates display of the messages within a corresponding social network page. A resource identifier (e.g. HTML link) within a message enables viewing of supplemental content at the discretion and initiative of each individual mobile terminal user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of U.S. provisional patent applicationSer. No. 62/009,609, filed Jun. 9, 2014, and provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 62/009,614, filed Jun. 9, 2014, which is hereinincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to systems andmethod for providing an interactive experience to audiences in amultiple viewer presentation environment such as a movie theater orcinema.

2. Description of the Related Art

Prior to the beginning of a feature presentation (i.e., the movie thatmembers of a theater audience have come to watch), a “pre-show” iscommonly provided. A pre-show includes advertising and other displaycontent in the form of slides (also called “fixed stock”) that arepresented in seriatim to the theater screen by projector technology. Thefixed stock is presented when the theater lighting is dimly lit andmoviegoers are entering the theater to take their seats during theseating period. Another form of advertising, called “rolling stock”, ispresented when the lights have been lowered and most of the moviegoersare seated during the pre-feature period. Rolling stock may include suchadvertising content as trailers for other movies currently featured inthe same theater, as well as trailers for upcoming movies from the samestudio.

For a variety of reasons, fixed stock has a smaller and less attentiveaudience than rolling stock. One reason may be the static and repetitivenature of the content. However, the inventors herein have also observedthe tendency of members of the audience to find other ways to entertainthemselves during the seating period. Mobile terminals such as smartphones and tablets, for example, have become both ubiquitous and capableof supporting a host of interactive, feature-rich applications. Only atthe time when presentation of the rolling stock begins, as a transitionto the feature presentation, are the lights of the theater lowered andpatrons asked to turn off their mobile terminals to avoid disturbingother patrons.

As such, the inventors have further determined that a continuing needexists for systems and methods which better utilize the seating periodas a means to gain meaningful and statistically significant consumerinsights from and market products and services to members of a movietheater audience.

The inventors herein have further determined that a continuing needexists for systems and methods able to achieve the foregoing ends insideand outside of the group viewing context.

SUMMARY

The Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

Computer implemented methods are described for presenting interactivecontent, to members of an audience having visible access to a commondisplay screen, as part of a pre-show that precedes presentation offeatured display content. Social network messages are received at aserver. Each of the messages originates at, and is received from, one ofa plurality of mobile devices executing a client application. The serverforwards at least some of the received messages to a projector, which inturn projects the messages to the display screen as posts within asocial network “page”. Concurrently, the received messages aretransmitted over a wireless local area network to mobile terminalsexecuting the client application. The client application initiatesdisplay of the messages within a corresponding social network page. Aresource identifier (e.g. HTML link) within a message enables viewing ofsupplemental content at the discretion and initiative of each individualmobile terminal user.

According to one or more embodiments, relevancy and social contextfiltering are applied to the social network messages received by theserver. The relevancy filtering utilizes, in some embodiments, avariable relevancy criterion to include or exclude messages having ahigher, or lower, probability of being relevant to the audience.

Illustrative examples of variable relevancy criteria for use inincluding a messages in a subset of messages identified and selected forpresentation to the audience, according to one or more embodiments,include geographic proximity of the message originator (or a locationidentified in the message) to the location of the group display screen(e.g., within a pre-defined radius), the presence of one or more keywords, in a message, identified as being relevant to the featurepresentation, the presence of one or more key words identified as beingrelevant to content being currently presented to a different panel ofthe projected pre-show display (e.g., an instantiation of a multi-playergame being played or watched by members of the audience), the presenceof one or more key words identified as being relevant to a projectedsocio-demographic profile of the feature presentation audience, and theexistence of an audience rating value for the message exceeding apre-determined threshold (e.g., a number of “likes” or “thumbs up”) bymembers of a prior audience who have already seen the same featurepresentation or who have already seen the same game as part of a priorpre-show.

Representative examples of variable relevancy criteria for use inexcluding a message from a subset of messages identified forpresentation to the audience, according to one or more embodiments,include geographic remoteness of the message originator (or a locationidentified in the message) to the location of the group display screen(e.g., outside a pre-defined radius), the absence of a key word, in amessage identified as being relevant to the feature presentation, theabsence of a key word identified as being relevant to content beingcurrently presented to a different panel of the projected pre-showdisplay (e.g., an instantiation of a multi-player game being played orwatched by members of the audience), the absence of a key wordidentified as being relevant to a projected socio-demographic profile ofthe feature presentation audience, and the existence of an audiencerating value below a pre-determined threshold (e.g., a number of“dislikes” or “thumbs down”) by members of a prior audience who havealready seen the same feature presentation or who have already seen thesame game as part of a prior pre-show.

Representative examples of social context filtering criteria, forexcluding messages from a subset identified and selected forpresentation to the audience according to one or more embodiments,include the presence of key words identified a priori as beingunacceptable to the audience rating applicable to the featurepresentation scheduled for after the pre-show.

In another embodiment, a system for providing forms of interactiveentertainment to a group in visible proximity to a group display screenincludes at least one server having an interface operative to receivemessages from a plurality of mobile terminals configured to execute aclient application. The at least one server comprises a processorconfigured to execute instructions that include a group display screencontent generator program that initiates display, to at least some ofthe plurality of mobile terminals and to the group display screen, of aselected subset of messages received from the plurality of mobileterminal. The program comprises a social network message selector thatforwards selected messages received from respective mobile terminalsduring a preshow preceding projection of a feature presentation to thegroup display screen.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A depicts a graphical representation of an illustrative pre-showimage, taken at a specific instance of time prior to screening offeatured display content (i.e., a feature presentation such as a movie),according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 1B depicts a graphical representation of a pre-show image taken ata point in time subsequent to the point at which the image of FIGS. 1Aand 1B were taken;

FIG. 2A depicts a functional block diagram illustrating a system forarranging and presenting interactive pre-show sessions to an audienceaccording to some embodiments;

FIG. 2B depicts an illustrative view of the physical architecture of asystem for arranging and presenting interactive multiplayer gamesessions to one or more audiences of a single theater according to oneor more embodiments;

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative view of the physical architecture of asystem for arranging and presenting interactive multiplayer gamesessions to one or more audiences of multiple theaters according to oneor more embodiments;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method for scheduling pre-show eventsprior to screening of respective movies in one or more rooms in one ormore theaters according to embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a tabular representation of feature titles and start times,for associated exhibitors and theaters, as constructed and referenced byone or more embodiments;

FIG. 6 is a tabular representation linking feature titles to data usefulin carrying out one or more embodiments;

FIG. 7A is a tabular representation mapping feature titles to gamesbased on filtering criteria such as those depicted in the exemplaryrepresentation of FIG. 6B, according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 7B is a tabular representation of an illustrative game schedule foran exemplary movie theater, by feature title/audience, according to oneor more embodiments;

FIG. 8A depicts an illustrative distribution of roles in a singleinstantiation of a multiplayer game session, across multiple rooms ofmultiple theaters, according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 8B is a flow diagram depicting the processing of mobile terminaluser requests in connection with the set up and presentation of aninteractive pre-show event to participants having a role of a pluralityof roles and to non-participants in an audience according to one or moreembodiments;

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram depicting the processing of varioustransactions by users of a mobile terminal who are remotely locatedrelative to a group display screen, according to one or moreembodiments;

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram depicting the processing of varioustransactions by users of a mobile terminal who are not remotely locatedrelative to a group display screen, according to one or moreembodiments;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram exemplifying a process of identifying andselecting one or more multiplayer games to be played as part of apre-show, according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram exemplifying a process for generating aninstantiation of a multiplayer game and rendering to one or more groupdisplay screens and a plurality of mobile terminals according to one ormore embodiments;

FIG. 13A is a block diagram depicting an exemplary mobile communicationterminal for use in interacting with an interactive group entertainmentsystem according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 13B is a tabular representation of a processing stack for a mobilecommunication terminal having a touch based input device and adapted tointeract with an interactive group entertainment system according to oneor more embodiments;

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of a process for using a mobile communicationterminal of the type exemplified by FIGS. 13A and 13B to supply touchbased input during play of an interactive multiplayer game according toone or more embodiments;

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram of a process for arranging and presentingsocial network messages to one or more groups having visible access to agroup display screen, according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram of a process for performing market researchutilizing a system configured to arrange and present interactive preshowsessions to one or more audiences of a single theater, according to oneor more embodiments; and

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram of a process for facilitating the development,market testing and commercial launch of programs executable on a mobileterminal or other device characterized by a display and user interface,according to one or more embodiments.

While the method and apparatus is described herein by way of example forseveral embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the artwill recognize that the method and apparatus for ordering images in animage set based on social interactions and viewer preferences is notlimited to the embodiments or drawings described. It should beunderstood, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are notintended to limit embodiments to the particular form disclosed. Rather,the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents andalternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the method andapparatus for ordering images in an image set based on socialinteractions and viewer preferences defined by the appended claims. Anyheadings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are notmeant to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As usedherein, the word “may” is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaninghaving the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaningmust). Similarly, the words “include”, “including”, and “includes” meanincluding, but not limited to.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following description and drawings are illustrative and are not tobe construed as limiting. Numerous specific details are described toprovide a thorough understanding of the disclosure. However, in certaininstances, well-known or conventional details are not described in orderto avoid obscuring the description. References to “one embodiment” or“an embodiment” in the present disclosure can be, but not necessarilyare, references to the same embodiment and such references mean at leastone of the embodiments.

Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic describedin connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodimentof the disclosure. the appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” invarious places in the specification are not necessarily all referring tothe same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodimentsmutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features aredescribed which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others.Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirementsfor some embodiments but not for other embodiments.

The terms used in this specification generally have their ordinarymeanings in the art, within the context of the disclosure, and in thespecific context where each term is used. Certain terms that are used todescribe the disclosure are discussed below, or elsewhere in thespecification, to provide additional guidance to the practitionerregarding the description of the disclosure. For convenience, certainterms may be highlighted, for example using italics and/or quotationmarks. The use of highlighting has no influence on the scope and meaningof a term; the scope and meaning of a term is the same, in the samecontext, whether or not it is highlighted. It will be appreciated thatsame thing can be said in more than one way.

Consequently, alternative language and synonyms may be used for any oneor more of the terms discussed herein, nor is any special significanceto be placed upon whether or not a term is elaborated or discussedherein. Synonyms for certain terms are provided. A recital of one ormore synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use ofexamples anywhere in this specification, including examples of any termsdiscussed herein, is illustrative only, and is not intended to furtherlimit the scope and meaning of the disclosure or of any exemplifiedterm. Likewise, the disclosure is not limited to various embodimentsgiven in this specification.

Without intent to limit the scope of the disclosure, examples ofinstruments, apparatus, methods and their related results according tothe embodiments of the present disclosure are given below. Note thattitles or subtitles may be used in the examples for convenience of areader, which in no way should limit the scope of the disclosure. Unlessotherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein havethe same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in theart to which this disclosure pertains. In the case of conflict, thepresent document, including definitions, will control.

According to embodiments of the present invention, techniques andsystems are provided for the purpose of conveying interactive displaycontent to movie-going audiences. A software client downloaded to andinstalled on the mobile terminal (e.g., Smartphone) of an audiencemember enables that audience member to interact “in-theater” with thesystem. Such interaction takes the form of participation in amultiplayer game, exchanging messages on a social media network,providing responses to queries, and/or ordering games and other mediacontent during the course of a pre-show.

In some embodiments, the display content conveyed to an audienceincludes an instantiation of an interactive multiplayer game, multipleinstantiations of interactive multiplayer games in seriatim, or eitherof these combined with messages exchanged as part of a social network.Embodiments of the invention are intended to integrate with anyin-theater infrastructure configured to organize and present advertisingand non-advertising content, received from various sources, to membersof an audience. In this regard, a plurality of sets or types of contentmay be presented to the audience concurrently at different points of apre-show. According to some embodiments, as exemplified by FIGS. 1A and1B, a plurality of discrete “panels’ of content are provided, in asingle composite image on screen 10. FIG. 1A corresponds to a “staging”phase of a pre-show event. Each panel has own frame and is indicated byreference numerals 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20, respectively. FIG. 1B presentsan exemplary composite screen 10′ applicable to the pre-show gamingsession which follows the staging phase. In this example, panel 20 isomitted, more area is dedicated to panel 14, and newly added panel 22presents information not previously provided during the staging phase.

The interactive pre-show image exemplified by the embodiment of FIG. 1Autilizes Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) according to the HTML5 format.Each frame contains an HTML page with visual contents. The overallpresentation length of the example is designed to run for a specifiedperiod of time, e.g., 20 minutes. According to some embodiments, one ormore frames are persistent during a pre-show and the content of thecorresponding pages are updated by scrolling or through contentsreplacement. Other frames are needed or desirable during particularportions of a pre-show but can be omitted at all other times. A pre-showgenerated and presented to an audience according to embodiments of theinvention can therefore optionally comprise a sequence of imagesdisplayed on screen 10, each having a different number and/orarrangement of frames.

With continuing reference to the illustrative example of FIG. 1A, theupper left frame 12 contains a page with a single GIF image thatidentifies a “Quiz” question which according to some embodiments relatesin some way to the content being displayed concurrently in the page ofone of the other frames. In the instant example, the question asks ifone of the members of the audience can identify the song being played ina video or movie trailer being rendered as HTML5 content as the page offrame 14. The bottom frame 16 contains a page which presents a set ofGIF images, all of which are static in the instance example but any ofwhich may be animated instead. The images correspond to instructions fordownloading, installing and activating a client application for thepurpose of interacting with an interactive pre-show engine according toembodiments of the invention.

A first of the GIF images in frame 16 identifies the service setidentifier (SSID) of a wireless access point. If a member of theaudience has a mobile terminal (e.g., a smart phone with a touch screeninterface) and has not yet done do, he or she connects to the internetvia the access point to download and install a client application. Onceinstalled and activated on the audience member's mobile terminal, thisapplication executes a number of functions which enhance the movie-goingexperience. A social media message may be entered by an audience memberusing the user interface of his or her mobile terminal, and thesemessages are shared with members of the same audience, as well as otheraudiences of the same theater or even of other theaters, as they awaitthe beginning of a feature presentation. According to embodiments, themessages are screened for content appropriate to the theater audienceand are incorporated into a preshow display on screen 10 (e.g., byscrolling of the page within a frame such as frame 18).

According to some embodiments, only relevant social media messages areincorporated into images being projected to a screen in another room ofthe same theater, or to into images being projected to one or morescreens of other theater(s). In some embodiments a message is consideredrelevant, for example, if it relates in some way to a game being played,a genre of game being played, the feature presentation, a genre of moviebeing presented, or to a promotion of a product or service being offeredto the audience as a whole or targeted at socio-demographic groupsrepresented by the audience. According to embodiments, a user selectsany of the aforementioned panels as 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20 to bedisplayed on the display of his or her own mobile terminal executing theaforementioned application. For example, a user selecting panel 18scrolls down to view messages posted to the same social network “wall”as projected to the theater screen. A mobile terminal touch event overany link or button rendered to the display of the mobile terminalcorresponding, or comparable user input event, invokes display of amessage posted to the social network “wall” displayed in panel 18. This,in turn, brings the user to a page which enables the user to accessinformation of interest and/or enables the user to reply to a selectedmessage.

In addition to posting messages as between members of a social network,a user of a mobile terminal executing the client application can answerthe question presented in frame 12 of FIG. 1A. A message identifying thecorrect answer and first person to answer correctly is automaticallygenerated and rendered to social networking “wall” frame 18. Accordingto some embodiments, a prize such as a discount coupon for concessionsor “points” redeemable for services and products accessible via theclient application (including gaming session privileges) are awarded fora correct answer and for other activities invoked via the mobileterminal. It is contemplated by the inventors herein that engaging theaudience in such an interactive and competitive fashion will encouragepatrons to arrive early, promote greater purchases of concessions andother high-margin items, and maximize opportunities to gain valuablemarketing insights about the patrons.

In the latter regard, according to one or more embodiments, a user whohas played or viewed a game as part of a pre-show, or who has just seenthe movie or other featured content presented thereafter, is invited toanswer survey questions. Preferably, the invitation is extended and theresponses are collected while the movie is still “top of mind” formembers of the audience. In an embodiment, a time or time window forsending invitations to participate in a survey is scheduled based on acountdown from a pre-defined end time of a feature presentation (e.g., amovie). As an example, the time or time window can be 0 to 120 minutesfrom the conclusion of the feature presentation. According toembodiments, a bonus incentive is awarded for responses submitted withina pre-determined window of, for example, 5 to 15 minutes. The invitationcan be sent by e-mail, an SMS (Short Message Service) text message, bye-mail, or even as a post to the “wall” frame of a social networkingapplication displayed as a menu option of the client applicationdownloaded to the user's mobile terminal. Survey responses are collectedand, optionally, anonymized by assignment of a unique identifier fromwhich the identity of a user cannot be derived. The anonymized ornon-anonymized responses, as applicable, are stored in a market researchdatabase connection with various socio-dynamic data associated with theuser.

Within continuing reference to the example of FIGS. 1A and 1B, a useruses his or her mobile terminal to join and participate in a multiplayergame rendered to the html5 page of frame 14 during a subsequent phase ofa scheduled pre-show. During the preceding “staging” phase, the socialmedia avatars of audience members who have already been accepted asactive competitors in a game are displayed in frame 20. By reviewingimages on the theater screen 10 and/or checking a menu rendered to thedisplay of his or her mobile device, a mobile terminal user who has notyet reserved a place in game being staged can determine what, if anyroles are still available and provide necessary authenticatinginformation as a condition to doing so. The page rendered to frame 20 ofthe image on screen 10 also includes a countdown timer which counts downto the start time of the multiplayer game being staged. Optionally, acountdown timer showing time remaining before the beginning of a featuremovie presentation is rendered to the page of frame 22 in the image onscreen 10′ (each, FIG. 1B). Moreover, either of these timers can berendered to the display screen of a mobile terminal executing the clientapplication—responsive to menu item selection via the client applicationuser interface.

It suffices to say that the various frames comprising a pre-show sessionaccording to embodiments of the invention is not limited to theparticular examples discussed above. Moreover, the html format, httpprotocol, and associated browsers and servers work together to bring apresentation to an audience in the exemplary embodiments. However, thereare other languages, transfer protocols and rendering software thatcould be combined to create the same or similar result. Other suitableexamples include the successor to HTML, Extensible Markup Language(XML), using Extensible Link Language (ELL), emerging and relatedspecifications. Other alternate means serving the same purpose couldalso be derived from Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML).

Other languages could also be constructed to serve the same purpose ofstoring, conveying and rendering text, images, and game video and/orgraphics. These languages would likely be, but aren't required to be,specified through a Document Type Definition (DTD). These languagescould render the content natively or they could host binary objects thatrender tagged sub-contents. This would eliminate the need for HTML, XMLor any other SGML-based language and serve the same purpose ofembodiments of the present invention.

Likewise, the contents need not be encapsulated in a language or script.They could be managed through a list of contents with or withoutassociated attributes and operating parameters. Such a list could beread by specialized display software and rendered according to theattributes and operating parameters. This would eliminate the need for alanguage and serve the same purpose of embodiments of the presentinvention. According to other embodiments, attributes and operatingparameters are embodied within the display objects themselves. In thisway, a set of display objects is taken as a stream and rendered byspecialized display software according to their respective internalattributes and operating parameters. This obviates the need for acontents list.

Whether by language, a contents list, or a stream of objects, some ofthe content rendered to projected image on screen 10 of FIG. 1A andscreen 10′ of FIG. 1C is either pushed or pulled from a server. FIG. 2Adepicts a functional block diagram illustrating a system 200,constructed in accordance with some embodiments, for arranging andpresenting interactive pre-show sessions to an audience wherein at leastsome members of the audience possess a mobile terminal configured toexecute an enabling client application. System 200 includes a centralserver 202 and a local server 204, each of which may be implemented as adistributed plurality of servers configured to exchange data over alocal or wide area network. Servers 202 and 204, in turn, haverespective network interfaces to support communicative couplingtherebetween. A communication link 208 established between theinterfaces of central server 202 and local server 204 facilitates theexchange of data and instructions according to one or embodiments.According to some embodiments, local server 204 is configured with awireless network interface and one or more wireless access points forestablishing respective wireless links to the plurality of mobileterminals 206.

According to some embodiments, server 202 is a computing device, forexample a desktop computer, laptop, tablet computer, and the like. Theserver 202 includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 201, supportcircuits 203, and a memory 205. The CPU 201 may include one or morecommercially available microprocessors or microcontrollers thatfacilitate data processing and storage. The various support circuits 203facilitate the operation of the CPU 201 and include one or more clockcircuits, power supplies, cache, input/output circuits, networkinterfaces, and the like. The memory 205 includes at least one of ReadOnly Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), disk drive storage,optical storage, removable storage and/or the like.

The memory 205 includes an operating system 207, an access controlmanager module 222, a software development kit (SDK) 223, resources 225including a game library to be accessed by local server 204 viacommunication link 208, a library 226 of tools for game developers, amanagement module 224, a plurality of applications 227, and a pluralityof user accounts 228. The operating system 207 may include variouscommercially known operating systems.

According to embodiments, access control manager 222 receives usercredentials from administrators, game developers, survey creators,survey report clients, exhibitors, and other individuals seeking accessto one or more of applications 227 implemented by execution ofinstructions by CPU 201. Access control manager 222 includes anauthorization module 229 and an authentication module 231. In someembodiments, authorization module 229 verifies that user is entitled togain access to one of the applications 227 by checking the user name ore-mail address against a list of authorized user names, whileauthentication module 231 verifies the identity of the user by checkinga password, device token, or access token submitted by the user alongwith the user name as part of the user credentials received byauthorization module 229.

According to some embodiments, server 202 hosts a game developmentprogram which includes SDK 223, management module 224, resources 225,and library 226. Once authenticated and authorized by user accesscontrol manager 222, a game developer is provided with a suite of toolsincluding a code base, APIs, and in some embodiments, a set of commandsfor use when the game instantiation resides solely in a local server asserver 204. In embodiments of the latter variety, a “pre-show demo”instantiation of the game hosted by the server is not also executedsimultaneously at mobile terminal device 206 such that the user of themobile terminal views the game on the device display. Instead, themobile terminal device 206 is used solely for entering user input via atouch screen or re-mapped buttons and keys, and for providing hapticfeedback to the user holding the device. In an embodiment, the userinput and haptic feedback is exchanged between server 204 and mobiledevices 206 via a wireless local area network associated with anexhibitor location. By appropriate reference to APIs available throughlibrary 226, a developer creates games which process commands returnedby mobile terminals 206 and which transmit haptic feedback generationcommands to those terminals as part of the game experience.

In other embodiments, the game hosting environment delivered by server204 is preconfigured for interoperability with common mobile terminaloperating systems as, for example, supported versions of Google Androidand Apple iOS. In such cases, the need for a software development kitmay be obviated and the game developer merely focuses on developing agame, or modifying an existing game, which complies with an appropriateset of rules.

According to some embodiments, server 204 is a computing deviceassociated with an exhibitor location, for example a desktop computer,laptop, tablet computer, and the like within a movie theater facility.The server 204 includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 209, supportcircuits 211, and a memory 213. The CPU 209 may include one or morecommercially available microprocessors or microcontrollers thatfacilitate data processing and storage. The various support circuits 211facilitate the operation of the CPU 209 and include one or more clockcircuits, power supplies, cache, input/output circuits, networkinterfaces, and the like. The memory 213 includes at least one of ReadOnly Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), disk drive storage,optical storage, removable storage and/or the like. The memory 213includes an operating system 215, and a plurality of local applications217. The operating system 217 includes various commercially knownoperating systems.

According to some embodiments, mobile terminal devices 206,alternatively referred to herein as mobile terminals and mobile devices,are mobile computing device characterized by a CPU 290, support circuits292, and memory 294. Typical mobile computer devices includesmartphones, tablet computers, and wearable computers. The CPU 290 mayinclude one or more commercially available microprocessors ormicrocontrollers that facilitate data processing and storage. Thevarious support circuits 292 also facilitate the operation of the CPU290 and include one or more clock circuits, power supplies, cache,input/output circuits, network interfaces, and the like. Supportcircuits 292 also include user interface components such as a display,touchscreen, rocker switches and buttons, and a haptic feedbackgenerator commonly used for silent modes of phone operation. Supportcircuits 292 also include a camera and an accelerometer. The memory 213includes at least one of Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory(RAM), disk drive storage, optical storage, removable storage and/or thelike. The memory 294 includes an operating system 295, one or morelocally installed games 295, and a client application 298 executable byCPU 290 to schedule game participation, participate in preshow games,create and review social network messages, respond to surveys, and enterinto e-commerce transactions such as concession purchases and soundtrackdownloads. The operating system 296 includes various commercially knownoperating systems.

The applications 217 and 227 include a pre-show scheduler application233. In some embodiments, the pre-show scheduler 233 is downloaded toserver 204 from server 202 and then launched locally by a featurepresentation exhibitor (e.g. a movie theater operator). In someembodiments, a client server model is employed, wherein a server versionof the scheduler application program resides at, and is executed by CPU201 of, server 202 and wherein a client version resides at, and isexecuted by CPU 209 of, server 204. Using the local or client version ofthe preshow scheduler, the exhibitor enters a start time of eachpre-show and each feature presentation, identifies the featurepresentation by title, and enters any custom filter settings to be usedin arranging and presenting interactive preshow sessions according toillustrative embodiments herein described. In some embodiments, acontent selector 233 a of scheduler 233 accesses the scheduling data,projected socio-demographic data and other data available about thefeature presentation, as well as filter settings 233 b, and determinesthe number and identity of games to be presented as part of aninteractive preshow. In embodiments where a plurality of social networkmessage streams (i.e., “channels”) have been derived by applyingdifferent filter criteria to include and exclude messages based on theirrelevancy and appropriateness for a given audience, the content selector233 a is further operative to select one of these streams.

The applications 217 and 227 also include a group display screen contentgenerator 235. In embodiments, when the scheduled time for a preshowsession arrives, scheduling program 233 is configured to notify groupdisplay screen content generator 235 to begin projecting a stagingversion of the preshow display on screen 10 (FIGS. 1A and 1B) panel.Scheduler 233 is further configured to authenticate and authorizeplayers requesting to join the game, and to update the list of gameparticipants and their respective roles. When a game is ready to launch,the scheduler 233 is configured to transmit instructions causing server204 to launch an instantiation of the game, to notify the participantsvia their respective mobile terminal devices 206, and to instruct thegroup display content generator 235 to begin projecting the active gameversion on screen 10′ of the interactive preshow display (FIG. 1C).

In embodiments, group display content generator 235 is downloaded fromserver 202 to server 204. Group display content generator includes aportion of server 204 responsible for hosting a local gameinstantiation, indicated generally at reference numeral 235 a, and aportion of server 204 responsive for receiving and filtering socialnetwork messages, indicated generally at 235 b. In an embodiment, groupdisplay content generator 235 renders the game instantiation 235 a andsocial network messages 235 b, along with any locally provided content,to respective visible panels by projection to a group display screen.

Applications 217 and 227 also include a survey manager program 237 andan e-commerce order processing program 239. According to embodiments,interested parties, including exhibitors, advertisers, featurepresentation content owners (or distributors), and game developers, arepermitted to construct and submit survey questions for inclusion in oneor more surveys to be presented to owners of mobile devices who haveattended a preshow and feature presentation. Survey manager 237 includesa survey scheduler 237 a, and a response collector 237 b. In someembodiments, the survey manager is downloaded to server 204 from server202, and surveys are constructed, scheduled and launched locally by afeature presentation exhibitor (e.g. a movie theater operator). In otherembodiments, a client server model is employed, wherein versions of thesurvey manager application reside and are executed at both centralserver 202 and server 204. A server implementation of the surveyapplication constructs surveys of broader geographic reach and higherstatistical power, collecting questions from a variety of interestedparties as noted above.

In embodiments, the survey scheduler module 237 a causes surveyquestions, regardless of origin, to be sent to users of mobile terminaldevices 206 during a pre-show or immediately after a featurepresentation while recollections are still fresh. Responses arecollected by collector 237 b and, if applicable, incentive award pointsare awarded by a user account module (not shown) of order processingapplication 239. In some embodiments, survey scheduler 237 is operativeto select an audience for participation in a survey on the basis of thetitle of a feature presentation, a game played during a preshow, a timeof day, or a geographic location. In some embodiments, individualmembers of an audience are selected for participation based, in additionto any or all of the aforementioned audience selected criteria, on auser profile developed via the user's prior interactions with system200.

As noted earlier, the applications 217 and 227 also include ane-commerce order processor 239. Order processor 239 is invoked when theuser of a mobile terminal 206 executes an order entry client application298. A user of a mobile device executing client application 298 operatesan e-commerce version of user interface 298 a. According to someembodiments, one or more user profiles are maintained in device 206. Forexample, a game version of user interface 298 b has a corresponding userprofile which may specify certain user setting such as high score, andgames. A social network version of user interface 298 b includes usernames comprising a buddy list or buddy group for the user. In similarfashion, an order processor version of user interface 298 a includes alocal profile which may streamline some or all of the order executionprocess. Order processor 239 also maintains a user profile in order totrack each mobile terminal user's purchase history, accumulatedincentive award points, and point redemption history.

An illustrative arrangement employing system 200 for integrating anddelivering advertising, multiplayer game sessions, social mediamessaging, and other pre-show content to multiple screens, as screens210, 212 and 214 of a theater 220, is shown in FIG. 2B. In FIG. 2B,there is shown an embodiment of a system 200 configured to enablemembers of one audience—e.g., those viewing a first group display screen210 located within a first building (such as the building associatedwith theater 220)—to interact, as by playing multiplayer games and/orexchanging messages via a social network, with members of one or moreadditional audiences within the same building. In the exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 2, a second audience is viewing second group displayscreen 212 while a third audience is viewing third group display screen214 and both of these are within the same theater 220. The overallsystem 200 may be described physically as an interconnected set ofgeneral purpose computers, software, and electronics. These componentsinclude central content library 270, central content server 272, accountdatabase 274, feature content information database 276, and marketinformation database 278. Each of the aforementioned components isconnected to local administrative server 260 at building 220 via acommunication network such as the internet 262. The local administrativeserver 260 is also communicatively coupled to a set of client assembliesvia intranet 268.

Each client assembly includes a client assembly server, as servers 240,242 and 244 within building 220. Each client assembly further includes aprojector as projectors 250, 252 and 254. This grouping ofinterconnected equipment facilitates centralized management ofinteractive content but also distributed presentation of interactivecontent. In some embodiments, servers as servers 240, 242 and 244 aretasked with receiving, storing, and assembling interactive content forpresentation via group display screens 210, 212, and 214 respectively.In the embodiment of FIG. 2A, however, these functions are performed bylocal administrative server 260, while servers 240, 242 and 24 arereserved for the purpose of rendering interactive content for projectionto the group display screens by projectors 250, 252 and 254. Accordingto alternate embodiments, projectors are omitted and the group displayscreens themselves are active components responsive to input fromservers 240, 242 and 244.

According to embodiments, each of servers 240, 242 and 244 includes apersonal computer (PC) that is connected to the system's intranet 268via a connection port through which it receives gaming and otherinteractive content and, optionally, separate advertising content.Associated with each server is a digital projector through which the PCrenders the frames comprising each stage of a pre-show event onto thegroup display screen. As the local recipient and staging platform of thegaming and other interactive content being presented according toembodiments, each server as server 240 receives the presentation via theintranet connection and stages it for access by a local server process.When the presentation is started by a screen operator, it is rendered tothe corresponding digital projector as projector 250 and projected to anassociated group display screen as screen 210 for the audience to view.One assembly is required for each screen location for the projection ofmessages from embodiments of the present invention.

In an embodiment, each projector as projector 250 is a high-intensityoutput device that projects a digital image onto a reflective surface tobe viewed by a large audience. Suitable projectors for the purpose ofprojecting a digital image onto a commercial movie screen include butare not limited to projectors manufactured by Barco Display Systems ofKortrijk, Belgium, Digital Projection International, PLC of Manchester,England, and NEC of Tokyo, Japan.]

In the embodiment of FIG. 2A, selections of advertising content arepulled from a central ad content database 230 via ad server 232. Theadvertising content is stored at a local, ad content store 234 foradministration by local administrative server 260. The locally storedads, in turn, are distributed to the aforementioned client assemblyservers. According to embodiments, and with continued reference to theembodiment of FIG. 2A, multiplayer games are likewise pulled from acentral location. Specifically, the games are retrieved from centralcontent library 270 via central administration server 272 and stored atlocal game content store 238 for administration by local interactiveentertainment server 236.

A game instantiation to be rendered to the one or more theater screens,for presentation as part of image screen 10′ (FIG. 1B) to thecorresponding audience(s) situated proximate to such screen(s), residesin local entertainment server 236. According to an embodiment,scheduling of one or more pre-show events which combine locally storedand served game and ad content, respectively, is implemented at localadministrative server 260 which is operative to exchange informationover communication network 262 with central administration server 272.For like operation of other systems 200 by other exhibitors, acorresponding local administration server, as server 264, is provided ateach exhibitor location.

It should be noted that separating ad content and game contentadministration, utilizing a discrete server for gaming and otherinteractive content in the manner exemplified by FIG. 2B, gives theexhibiting theater operator greater control over the integration oflocal advertising content. Also, it permits the use and integration ofinteractive entertainment systems according to some embodiments to beinstalled alongside pre-existing ad content rendering infrastructure.For example, a theater owner may desire to allocate only a portion of apre-show event to the delivery of multiple player games, prior toscreening of a feature presentation, according to some embodiments butreserve a remaining portion of a pre-show event to the delivery ofconventional ad content. It should also be emphasized that theadministration of and delivery of advertising and interactiveentertainment content, using a single server, is also within the spiritand scope of the present disclosure.

According to further embodiments, at least some (or all) ad content isdelivered “on demand” to the mobile terminal devices of certain users,rather than rendered or projected to the group display screen(s) duringa pre-show event. A user viewing a social networking page of displayscreen 10′ (FIGS. 1A and 1B) need only invoke a client application onhis or her mobile terminal (which he or she may already have done inorder to post messages to such page) in order to click on advertisementplaced on the page. In such cases, the need for a local advertisementplanning and rendering capability, as exemplified by FIG. 2B, may beomitted altogether. Alternatively, it may be used to push special offerssuch as coupons to the mobile terminals as part of the aforementionedsocial networking functionality.

In any event, and with continued reference to FIG. 2B, it will be seenthat content library 270, user account database 274, featurepresentation information database 276, and market information database278 are each operatively associated with and communicatively coupled tocentral administration server 272. Data stored within user accountdatabase 274 is used to authenticate exhibitors such, for example, as afirst exhibitor (e.g., operator of a first movie theater using localadministrative server 260) and a second exhibitor (e.g., operator of asecond movie theater using local administration server 264).Authentication proceeds in a conventional manner using, for example, arespective unique user identifier and password combination assigned toeach corresponding exhibitor (or member of the exhibitor's staff).

Feature database 276 includes, inter alia, information such as movietitles, typical audience profiles for such movie titles, movie ratings,and genre classifications. As will be discussed in greater detailshortly, such feature data is used in some embodiments to selectmulti-player games which are appropriate for the members of a particularaudience, and to filter out content inappropriate for an audience sothat it is not included among the posts to a social network pageprojected to the group display screen, as one of screens 210, 212 or214, associated with that audience. Over time, data is gathered from themobile terminal users about their viewing and pre-show spendingpatterns, the products they purchase, socio-demographic data, and thelike, and this data is collected and stored in market data database 278.

According to some embodiments, the account data within database 274further includes data for authenticating the creators of video contentor advertising content of which at least the former content uploaded byauthenticated users is stored in content library 270. According to someembodiments, advertising content of the type to be rendered toindividual users is also be uploaded to content library 270 as, forexample, special discount offers and promotions to be acted upon byaudience members equipped with a mobile terminal and interacting withsystem 200 as already described. Finally, in some embodiments database274 further includes data for authenticating the users of mobileterminals who utilize an application, executed by a processor thereof,to consummate e-commerce transactions with the exhibitor, to participatein a multi-player game, or to interact with the social networkingfunctionality of system 200. Such authentication enables theaccumulation of data regarding user purchases of such items asconcessions, sound tracks, and other items which may be of interest toadvertisers and others. According to some embodiments, such purchasetransactions are stored database 278 in association with a unique,anonymized user identifier as opposed to personally identifiableinformation such as user name, address, phone number or the like.

According to some embodiments, market database 278 further includes theresults of surveys administered to some or all members of an audienceduring a pre-show event or after a feature presentation. By way ofillustrative example, those mobile terminal users who participated inand/or observed an instantiation of a multi-player game during apre-show event may be asked to answer questions about the game itself.Some or all of these questions can be submitted by the entity orentities that created and made available the game. A content contributorusing a workstation as workstation 266 to access a reporting portaladministered over the communication network, e.g., via centraladministration server 272 or an associated web server (not shown) viewsthe results of such survey. By way of alternate example, a survey may bepushed to audience members still invoking the mobile terminalapplication after the feature presentation in order to collectrespondents' impressions. The impressions can be about advertisementsthe users saw in the social network panel presented during the pre-show,an advertisement they saw at some other point during the pre-show event,about a particular concession item they purchased, or even about thefeature presentation itself. Owing to central collection capabilities,the impressions of many audience members can be aggregated to reachabout of statistical significance and offered to interested entities ona syndicated reporting basis.

To accommodate the exchange of information between the mobile terminalsof users and local interactive entertainment server 236, some form ofnetwork connectivity is required. Where, as in the example of FIG. 2B,multiplayer games are played on a strictly local (intra building) basis,the relatively high cost and/or signal strength variability issuesassociated with use of a mobile carrier network can be avoided. To thisend, each location as theater 220 utilizes a wireless local area networkfor the exchange of signaling between local interactive entertainmentserver 236 and the user mobile terminals. Wireless access points asaccess points 280 a to 280 d are distributed throughout building 220. Inthis regard, any suitable wireless communication protocol may be usedsuch, for example, as a Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11, and the like.

Turning now to FIG. 3, there is shown an embodiment of a system 300configured to enable members of one audience located at a first building(such as building associated with theater 220) to interact, as byplaying multiplayer games and/or exchanging messages via a socialnetwork, with members of an audience located at a second building,indicated generally at 320. Like system 200 shown in FIG. 2, whereinlike elements are referred to by like reference numerals, the overallsystem 300 may be described physically as an interconnected set ofgeneral purpose computers, software, and electronics. These componentsinclude central content library 370, central content server 372,databases 374, 376 and 378 that are connected to work stations 260 and360 at buildings 220 and 320, respectively, via the internet 262, aswell as a set of client assemblies that are connected to localadministrative servers 260 and 360, respectively, via respectiveintranets 268 and 368.

Each client assembly includes a client assembly server, as servers 240,242 and 244 within building 220 and servers 340, 342 and 344 withinbuilding 320. Each client assembly further includes a projector asprojectors 250, 252 and 254 (building 220) and projectors 350, 352, and354 (building 320). This grouping of interconnected equipmentfacilitates centralized management of interactive content but alsodistributed presentation of interactive content. System 300 differs fromsystem 200 in that local interactive content server 239 and associatedlocal game content store 238 are omitted. That is, instead of providingthese latter components at each location, their functions areconsolidated at central content server 372 and content library 370,respectively. System 300 further includes a centralized store 230 ofadvertising content which provides advertising content via advertisingserver 232 in a manner similar to that described in connection withsystem 200, above.

In some embodiments, servers as servers 240, 242, 244, 340, 342, and344, are tasked with receiving, storing, and assembling interactivecontent for presentation via group display screens 210, 212, and 214(building 220) and group display screens 310, 312, and 314 (building320), respectively. The servers are further tasked with renderinginteractive content for projection by or to the group display screens.Failures are managed through rapid repair and/or replacement.

According to embodiments, central content server 272, its attendantdatabases, and its back up (not shown) are geographically located atsites with access to high-quality power and communications services.Geographic redundancy of servers is employed with central administrativeserver 272 such that in the event of a site failure, a backup server atanother site will pick-up the service until the site is restored.Through equipment and site redundancies, there will be no single pointof failure for the system as a whole. The physical architecture of theservers and databases may be scaled and partitioned to keep pace withsystem demand. Clusters will be replicated for redundancy and to reducethe cost of implementing the WAN. The servers will run LINUX (anoperating system developed at AT&T now offered by many vendors) orsimilar operating systems capable of hosting multiple server processeson the same machine and facilitating embodiments of the presentinvention's logical architecture. Alternate operating systems include,but are not limited to, LINUX (developed by Linus Torvalds of SantaClara, Calif.), or AIX (sold by International Business Machines ofArmonk, N.J.). As in the case of system 200, wireless access points asaccess points 280 a to 280 d (building 220) and 380 a-380 d (building320) are distributed throughout each building to facilitate exchange ofinformation and signals between system 300 and the plurality of mobileterminal users disposed at each location.

The server computers depicted throughout the various embodiments may begeneral purpose computers, and may include one or more centralprocessing units (CPUs), random access memory (RAM), and persistent datastorage device (e.g. magnetic disk). The CPU executes the softwareinstructions, thereby operating on the data. The instructions and dataare staged for execution in RAM. The software and data are primarilymaintained in the persistent data storage device. General purposecomputers are available from IBM, HP, Sun and many other vendors. Thepreferred embodiment of the system will make use of one or more types ofcomputer from one or more vendors based on price/performance criteria.

An exhibitor connects the desktop computer associated with acorresponding local administrative server 260 (building 220) or 360(building 320) via a browser to central administrative server 272 byentering the system's URL (e.g., an Internet web site address) into thebrowser. The exhibitor enters a user name and password as part of thelogin process. In an embodiment, script instructions (e.g., PHP,Javascript, Perl, Python, Ruby scripting language instructions) call alogin service in transactional services, which, in turn, queries theaccount database 374 for a match. If a match is found then a session iscreated under the exhibitor's account and the user is presented with amain page offering a series of options for the scheduling of a pre-showevent comprising one or more multiplayer game sessions and socialnetworking interactivity.

An illustrative method 400 for scheduling a pre-show event according toone or more embodiments is shown in FIG. 4. The process is entered atstep 401 and proceeds to step 402 where an exhibitor's credentials areauthenticated in a conventional manner such as that described above. Atstep 404 the process is initialized so that pre-show events arescheduled in seriatim for each corresponding feature presentation asmovies M₁ through M_(n) and for each theater location operated byexhibitor, as theaters T₁ to T_(m). At step 406, the process incrementsby one and, at step 408, a first theater location (e.g., T₁) is selectedby the user. For first theater T₁, the schedule-by-movie process isinitialized at step 410 and incremented by one at step 412 so that atstep 414, that the user schedules a pre-show event for a first movie M₁playing at first theater T1.

The manner in which the user specifies relevant details for schedulingaccording to one or more embodiments admits of substantial variation.According to some embodiments, for example, the user is presented, atstep 414, with a list of titles for currently showing movies from whichto choose and for which details such as audience rating (e.g. G, PG-13,R, etc.) and other pertinent data are already pre-populated into featuredatabase 276. An exemplary table of such pertinent data, by feature(movie) is shown in FIG. 5. In other embodiments, the user may berequired to enter at least some of the information (e.g., the featuretitle) manually. Likewise, the user is requested to enter the start timeand duration of the pre-show and/or the start time of pre-show and starttime of the feature presentation and, optionally, how many interactivegame sessions are desired for the pre-show event. In some embodiments, adefault of two game sessions of 10 minutes duration each is scheduled tobegin and terminate prior to the scheduled start time of the featurepresentation.

At decision block 416, the method 400 determines whether the user hasany additional pre-show events to schedule for another movie playing atthe current theater. If so, the method returns to step 406, incrementsby one, and the user is prompted to specify another movie (e.g. M₂) andone or more further iterations is performed until the user is satisfiedthat a pre-show event has been scheduled for all required featureshowings at the current theater. When this occurs, method 400 advancesfrom step 416 to 418 at which point the method determines whether theuser wishes to schedule a pre-show for another location as, for example,theater T₂. If so, the process returns to step 506 and theabove-mentioned process is carried out for this theater (and allsubsequent theaters administered by the user, if desired), in the samemanner as already described for theater T₁. When the user has no otherpre-show events to schedule, the method terminates at step 420. Theprocess 400 is likewise repeated for subsequent Exhibitors as, forexample, Exhibitor E₂ operating theater T₃. The result is the creationof a table within account database 274 having at least the data depictedin FIG. 6.

With the pre-show event having been scheduled, one or more games areselected for play by audience members. According to some embodiments,only multiplayer games which are generally acceptable, as by a lack ofviolence, offensive language, or other objectively measurable criteria,are selected for use during a pre-show event. In such cases, no mappingor filtering is required. In at least some of these embodiments,however, a subset of games may be selected as being particularlyappropriate for a given audience. For example, returning briefly to FIG.5, it will be seen that certain socio-demographic data may be availablefor each feature. For example, the child to adult ratio of certainfeatures may be very high for some movies and very low for others. Suchinformation could be used to select one or more appropriate games ascompared to others. Alternatively, if the genre for the feature combinesscience fiction and action adventure (SF A/V), then one or more gamesconsistent with this genre would be more appropriate.

According to some embodiments, the content provider (i.e., provider of aparticular game) is running an active promotion or has requestedtargeting of a certain audience, then such preferences are noted inaccount database 274, as indicated in FIG. 5 and used, at least in part,to further limit the list of available games for at least a first gamesession of a pre-show event. According to still other embodiments, andwith continued reference to FIG. 5, additional information, such as thepresence of certain thematic elements such, for example, as intenseviolence (IV), adult language (L), strong language (SL), and sexualsituations (S), coupled with a low (or non-existent0 child to adultration, would support a broader selection of games and a coarser (ornon-existent) filter for identifying games as candidates.

An illustrative feature movie to game mapping is shown in FIG. 7A.Execution of a selection process according to embodiments of theinvention—taking into account one or more of feature start time and/orpre-show event start and end time, as well as a movie to game mappingderived from the aforementioned socio demographic information and/orgenre information derived from the movie title and/or othermechanisms—can result in pre-show events which are presented to multipleaudiences simultaneously, as depicted in FIG. 7B. Thus, for example,audiences viewing Movie M₁ and Movie M₂ in the same theater arepresented with a single instantiation of games G₁, G₂ and G₆ during thepre-show. As seen in FIG. 5, each of movies M₁ and M₂ start at the sametime and have the same rating (G), making their audiences idealcandidates for a consolidated game instantiation. Although movies M₄ andM₁₀ may also have the same pre-show starting time (e.g., 13:00) andrating (R), allowances must also be made for the number of people in anaudience who wish to participate actively in a given game. As well,according to some embodiments, at least some members of an audience aregiven the opportunity to vote on which games are to be played during apre-show event. Comparing the games identified in FIG. 7B as beingselected for movies M₄ and M₁₀, it will be seen that although game G₆will be played by both audiences for the first pre-show event staring at13:00, one audience will be playing G₁ while the other will be playinggame G₂. Likewise, in subsequent showings, games G₃ and G₅ are presentedto and/or played by members of subsequent audiences for movie M₄ whilein games G₂ and G₃ are presented to and/or viewed by members ofsubsequent M₁₀ audiences.

From FIG. 7A, it will be further observed that a few games, namely gamesG₃, G₄, and G₅, are not suited for all audiences. The content of gameG₅, for example, is appropriate for audiences admitted to a movie ratedPG-13 (e.g., movies M₃, M₅ and M₁₁) or R (e.g., movies M₅, M₇ and M₈),but not for G-rated movies. Likewise, games G₃ and G₄ contain contentwhich is appropriate for the movies rated R, but not for the “typical”audience attending G or PG-13 rated movies (as determined by reference,for example, to feature information data as tabulated in FIG. 5).

According to some embodiments, audience member interactions with system200 (FIG. 2) or system 300 (FIG. 3) are mediated by the mobile terminalsof the audience members. Turning now to FIG. 8A, there is shown anillustrative distribution of roles in a single instantiation of amultiplayer game session, across multiple rooms of one or more theaters,according to an illustrative embodiment. Members of a first audience areassociated with group display screen 210 and possess mobile terminals410-1 to 410-n, respectively. The mobile communication terminals aretypically smart phones, but may also be PDA's, tablet devices, wearablecomputer devices or any combination of the foregoing. Likewise, membersof a second audience are associated with group display screen 212 andpossess mobile terminals 412-1 to 412 n, respectively, while members ofa third audience are associated with group display screen 314 andpossess mobile terminals 414-1 to 414-n, respectively. At least some ofthe members of one or both of the first and second audience are within afirst building and already have visible access to group display screens210 and 212, respectively, while other members may still be en route toa seating location at the first location. Likewise, at least somemembers of the third audience are within a second building and alreadyhave visible access to group display screens 314, while other members ofthe third audience may still be enrooted to seating locations at thesecond location.

According to embodiments, an interactive multiplayer game environment isdefined wherein a plurality of sets of rules governing participation inthe game are defined, with each respective set of rules being associatedwith a corresponding role in the game. Eligibility is based on one ormore quantitative criteria such as the availability of roles forassignment and one or more qualitative criteria such as qualifyingpurchases made using a mobile client, social messaging activity, and thelike. By way of illustration, at a particular point during a pre-showevent, a first group of mobile terminals indicated as Group I in FIG. 4Acomprises mobile terminals 410-1 and 410-2, 412-1 and 412-2, and 414-1,a second group of terminals indicated as Group II comprises mobileterminals 410-3 and 412-3, and a third group of terminals indicated asGroup III comprises 410-3 to 410-6, 412-3 to 412-6, and 414-2 to 414-5.All other mobile terminals interact with a system, such as system 200 or300, as non-participants so far as an instantiation of a multiplayergame is concerned. That is, a non-participant can invoke a clientapplication program using his or her mobile terminal in order to requestaccess to a future game instantiation, to place an order forconcessions, to interact with the social networking page of screen 10(FIG. 1A) or screen 10′ (FIG. 1B), or to request participation in acurrent game instantiation in the capacity of an available role.

Each of terminals 410-1 to 410-n, 412-1 to 412-n and 414-1 to 414-n haveinstalled thereon the aforementioned client application, by which therespective devices may be operated to transmit a request to participatein a game instantiation presented to an audience during a pre-showaccording to one or more embodiments. The requests are processed bylocal administration server as server 268 or 369 of system 300 (FIG. 3)and the game instantiation(s), as noted previously, are rendered byservers 240, 242 and 340, respectively, to corresponding projectors 250,252 and 350, respectively. In turn, a common game instantiation issimultaneously projected by the projectors to group display screens 210,212 and 310, respectively.

Audience members who are the users of mobile terminals within Group Iare active participants in the common instantiation of a multiplayergame. That is, they have requested and been granted authorization toparticipate in the game as direct competitors against one another. Aspart of system 300, central administration server acts, according to theembodiment of FIG. 3, as an interactive entertainment server. As notedpreviously, such this function is performed by a local interactiveentertainment server 236 as part of system 200 in the embodiment of FIG.2 In each case, input from the Group I mobile terminals is processed,during a game instantiation, according to a set of rules associated withthe role of their users as direct competitors. Likewise, the clientapplication executed by each Group I user's mobile terminal executessoftware for generating and transmitting game control inputs accordingto the first set of rules.

In some embodiments, an instantiation of the same screen portion asbeing rendered to panel 16′ of the image on screen 10′ is rendered tothe respective displays of the corresponding Group I mobile terminals.In some smart phone embodiments, each user enters game control input viatouch screen and by reference solely to the display of the terminalitself. According to other embodiments, the set of rules applicable tooperation of a Group I mobile terminal are such that movements of themobile terminal itself and/or depressions of hard buttons temporarilymapped to the client application provide the necessary control input. Inthis case, a user makes reference to the group display screen ratherthan to the individual display of his or her mobile terminal.

Audience members who are the users of mobile terminals within Group IIare not active participants in the common instantiation of a multiplayergame. Instead, they have requested and been granted authorization toparticipate in the game according to a different role, governed by adifferent set of rules. According to one or more embodiments, the GroupII mobile terminals are used in support of an administrator role.Broadly speaking, an administrator role is one in which the userpossesses an ability to add or modify a rule of the multiplayer gameaffecting all mobile terminal users actively participating in a singleinstantiation of a multiplayer game. According to some embodiments, anadministrator is granted authority to override a default parameter whichwould otherwise be in effect by normal operation of the game. Suchparameters may, for example, include a default choice of perspective tobe rendered to panel 16 of the image on screen 10′ (FIG. 1C) during aninteractive game session. If supported and enabled by the contentcreator, one of the administrators (where there are more than one), isalso permitted to choose from a number of finite game options such, forexample, starting level, finishing level, background color and/or sceneselection, track selection (if a racing game), combat style (if afighting game), music selection, and the like.

According to embodiments, when the mobile terminal of an administratorexecutes the client application and displays an administrative optionsmenu, the administrator selects options enabling him or her to add,remove or modify a rule of the multiplayer game. This action equallyaffects all mobile terminal users actively participating as competitorsin a single instantiation of the multiplayer game. As furtherillustrative examples beyond those mentioned above, the rule(s) canrelate to the selection or replacement of a specific background theme,specifying a game complexity level, the insertion or removal ofobstructions to a path navigated in the game by all participants (e.g.,in a racing or virtual world game), the choice of a “boss’ to bedefeated during a given level, or any other modification to the gamingenvironment which affects all active competitors in a uniform manner.

Owing to the differing roles and inputs associated with the execution ofthose roles, the user interface screen presented to the mobile terminaldisplay of a Group II terminal user differs substantially from thatpresented to a Group I terminal users. As such, systems 200 or 300 areoperative to receive and process user input received from the Group IImobile terminals according to the set of rules associated with one ormore administrator's role in the multiplayer game.

According to some embodiments, a third category of role is defined whichis governed by yet another set of rules which differs from both the setof rules associated with active competitors and the set of rulesassociated with administrators. This third category is that of a gameinstantiation “intervener”. According to the set of rules associatedwith this category of defined role, an intervener is user empowered tomodify a rule of the multiplayer game locally affecting an individualmobile terminal user who is actively participating as a competitor in asingle instantiation of the multiplayer game, and/or to add to or modifya capability of an individual mobile terminal user activelyparticipating as a competitor in a single instantiation of themultiplayer game. By way of illustration, an instantiation intervenermay confer a positive effect on one player or, in the alternative confera negative effect on another. As a more concrete example of the former,a user of a Group III terminal may invoke a sponsor UI screen of his orher terminal and select from a list of “helper” options such as renderfirst aid, provide ammunition, provide additional equipment, or the liketo a favored competitor. As an example of the latter, a user of a GroupIII terminal may invoke a list of “challenge” or “blocking” options, inwhich the user moves an obstruction into the path of a non-favoredcompetitor.

In all three of the above-identified cases, it will be appreciated thata distinct set of roles and associated rules all a virtually unlimitednumber of mobile terminals to participate, in some way, in a singlemultiplayer game instantiation presented to members of an audienceduring and as part of a scheduled pre-show event. Of course, one or moreof the mobile terminals users may wish to remain entirely passive as tothe game itself, but still interact in some way with the screen 10(FIGS. 1A and 1B) or 10′ (FIG. 1C). Thus, for example, a user may invokeyet another UI screen of an installed client application to postmessages and related content to the area of the screen reserved for theexchange of social networking messages.

With reference now to FIG. 8B, a flow diagram corresponding to a method800 implementing the functionality exemplified by the embodimentsdiscussion of FIG. 8A will now be described in detail. The method 800begins at start step 802 and proceeds to step 804. At step 804, themethod receives an initial communication from a mobile terminalexecuting an interactive gaming and entertainment application accordingto one or more embodiments. The process proceeds to step 806 where thelocation of the mobile terminal is determined. Any conventional methodmay be used for this purpose. For example, mobile terminal may simplyrespond to a location query by determining and reporting its ownlocation. Alternatively, triangulation may be carried out in accordancewith a known technique. At step 808, method 800 determines whether ornot the mobile terminal and associated user are in the audience. If not,method 800 identifies, at step 810, a list of options available to aremote user. At step 812, information is transmitted to the user'smobile terminal in response to menu option selection(s) invoked by theuser and, at step 814, method 800 processes UI events invoked by themobile terminal according to a set of remote execution rules. The mannerin which the events are processed will be described in greater detailshortly by reference to FIG. 9. When no further events remain to beprocessed at step 814, the method 800 is terminated at step 816.

If, at step 808, method 800 determines that the mobile terminal andassociated user are in the audience, the method 800 identifies at step818 the options available to in-theater users of the mobile terminaland, at step 820, transmits information responsive to user optionselection. According to some embodiments, a user option selection ismade by one or a series of touch screen events captured over softbuttons rendered to the mobile terminal display. At step 822, method 800determines whether or not the user has been granted or is requestingparticipation in a game role. If not, the process 800 proceeds to step824 so that user interface events are processed according to the localexecution rules applicable to those members of an audience notparticipating in an upcoming game scheduled as part of a pre-show event.At the expiration of the pre-show, the process terminates at step 826unless earlier terminated by the user.

If, at step 822, method 800 determines that the user of the mobileterminal has been assigned a game role, then at step 828 the processcommences and a local countdown timer is started and rendered to thedisplay of the mobile terminal. If the user has not already navigated tothe appropriate screen via his or her mobile terminal user interface byten seconds (or other suitable interval) prior to the game star time, atstep 830 the game controller and/or game instantiation UI is caused bythe client application to be rendered to the mobile terminal display ofthe Group I terminals, the administrator UI is caused by the clientapplication to be rendered to the mobile terminal display of the GroupII terminals, and the intervener UI is caused by the client applicationto be rendered to the mobile terminal display of the Group IIIterminals. Method 800 determines at step 832 whether or not the game isready to start, and if not, UI events continue to be processed accordingto local execution rules (e.g., the game controls and other UI inputsassociated with game functions and rules are locked). When the game isready to start, the method 800 proceeds to step 834 and beginsprocessing UI inputs according to rules of the common gameinstantiation. At step 836, the method determines whether or not ascheduled game is over. If not, the method 800 returns to step 834 andcontinues to process UI input according to the rules applicable to theuser's assigned role in the game. If so, the process proceeds to step838 and determines whether the pre-show is over or whether an additionalgame session is to be staged.

If an additional game is to be staged, the process returns to step 828and the countdown timer is reset and rendered to the display of thosemobile terminals that have already been granted a role in the upcominggame instantiation. Alternatively, the process returns to a staging step(not shown) which precedes block 822 and at which point the user of theterminal may follow instructions for requesting participation in thenext game being staged. If no further games are scheduled for thepre-show event, then the process returns to step 824 and processes UIevents according to the local execution rules applicable after thepre-show period has ended. The rules at this stage, for example, mayplace the phone in a “theater mode” which prevents the emitting ofaudible alerting tones by the device but which may still permit suchfunctions as placement of orders for concessions and the like.

Turning now to FIG. 9, an exemplary method 900 according to one or moreembodiments for implementing step 812 of process 800 (FIG. 8B) will nowbe described in greater detail. From step 810, method determines at step902 whether or not a query entered by a user's mobile terminal is atheater locator query. If so, process 900 proceeds to step 904 where alist of participating theaters within radius r of the mobile terminallocation is retrieved from an exhibitor database. Non-participatingtheaters (i.e., those not supporting multiplayer gaming) can also beincluded. A record of the query and interaction with the mobile terminaluser is preferably stored as part of the user's account profile in themarket database (such information may, for example, be analyzed todetermine when and how often a user followed through by attending ashowing at a participating theater vs. a non-participating theater).

In any event, and with continued reference to FIG. 9, a user may furtherinvoke a query regarding a particular movie at step 906, wherein theprocess proceeds to step 908 and determines and transmits, to the user,the start time(s) and theater locations for a selected movie. Theprocess proceeds to step 910 and determines whether the user of themobile terminal wishes to utilize the client application to execute aticket purchase transaction. If so, the process advances to step 912wherein a secure e-commerce transaction is processed according to aconventional technique (e.g., a credit card purchase transaction or ahand-off to a third party service). According to some embodiments, userloyalty is rewarded through the awarding of incentive points when aticket is made. Such incentive points are redeemed via discountedpurchases, higher priority in granting of game role requests and, in thecase of the aforementioned category of game instantiation interveners,purchases of benefits and/or penalties to be conferred by the intervenerupon the active competitors. An award crediting step is implemented at913.

Likewise, at step 914, method 900 determines whether the user wishes toplace a concession order so that it is ready for pickup when the userarrives at the theater. If so, the method proceeds to step 916,processes and acknowledges the concession order(s) placed by the user,and at 917 credits the user's incentive account in the same manner asdescribed for the purchases of tickets. At step 918, the user mayadditional invoke the client application to make a request for a gamerole reservation associated with one or more ticket(s) just purchasedvia step 912. If so, the process proceeds to step 920 and the user'srequest to participate as an active competitor, an administrator or anintervener is implemented. If a redemption of award points was acondition of a particular role being conferred upon the user, the user'suser reward account is adjusted at step 922. When the user has nofurther transactions to consummate via invocation of the clientapplication, the process advances to step 814 (FIG. 8B) and further UIevents will continue to be processed according to remote executionrules. By way of illustrative example, according to some embodiments aremote user is authorized to place further orders, to make furtherqueries as described earlier, and to post messages to the socialnetworking wall portion of display screen 10 if the pre-show has alreadybegun. Such messaging capability might, for example, be used by a userto alert others who are already in the theater that he or she is on theway and will be bringing refreshments!

With reference now to FIG. 10, an exemplary method 1000 according to oneor more embodiments for implementing step 820 of process 800 (FIG. 8B)will now be described in greater detail. From step 818, methoddetermines at step 1002 whether or not members of the audience aregranted the option of voting on audience vs. audience capability.According to some embodiments, all forms of voting are open to allmobile terminal devices executing the client application while in otherembodiments they are limited to those who have acquired a VIP status asmeasured by the accumulation of incentive award points. If audience vs.audience competition is an option to be set by voting, then users areprompted at step 1004 to navigate to a screen of the client applicationuser interface to enter a yes or no vote as, for example, by a softbutton actuated by touch screen event. Votes are received at step 1006and the selection is processed at step 1008. If the selection is yes,for example, method 1000 selects one or more audiences according tomovie and game rating compatibility, as previously described inconnection with FIGS. 5, 6, 7A and 7B.

The process advances to step 1010. At step 1010, the list of games whichcan be offered to the audiences selected at step 1008 is identified andat step 1012, a determination is made as to whether voting on gameselection is enabled. If so, the process proceeds to step 1014 and usersare prompted to enter a vote for or against using a mobile terminalexecuting the client application. Method 1000 receives the votes at step1016, and if eligibility to vote was conditioned upon redemption ofincentive points, then the user's award account is adjusted (debited) atblock 1018 and votes are processed at step 1020. The proceeds to step1022, where the game(s) selected for an upcoming pre-shown event sessionis or are communicated to the users via the group display screen(s) andusers of mobile terminals are invited, during a staging phase, toreserve a role in one or all of the upcoming games. At step 1024, theprocess 1000 determines whether a user wishes to reserve a role in anupcoming game. If so, the process proceeds to step 1026 and the requestto reserve a role as a participant is processed. According to someembodiments, a user is required to redeem incentive points in order tocompete as an active competitor and, as such, the reward account of theuser is debited at step 1028. If the method 1000 does not determine thatthe user wishes to reserve a role in an upcoming game, the methodproceeds to step 1030 and determines whether the user desires to place aconcession, game or soundtrack order. In such event, the processadvances to step 1032, the applicable order(s) are processed in aconventional manner, and incentive award points are credited to theuser's account at step 1034. The process then proceeds to step 822 ofmethod 800 according to such embodiments as presented in FIG. 8B.

Turning now to FIG. 11, an exemplary method 1100—for determining a listof games available for presentation and play by members of one or moreaudiences according to one or more embodiments for implementing step1010 of process 1000 (FIG. 10)—will now be described. From step 1002 or1008, as the case may be, method 1100 proceeds to step 1102 andretrieves genre, rating, and demographic data for a scheduled featuremovie. The method 1100 advances to step 1104 and retrieves the sessioncount limit c. The session count corresponds to the number of gameswhich will be presented to and played by members of the audience as partof the scheduled pre-show event. According to some embodiments, two gamesessions of eight minutes each are included, with an additional twominutes allocated to each of the two game sessions for staging. Once thesession count limit is established, the count is initialized at step1106.

During the staging phase, owners of mobile terminals are invited toinstall the client application to their phones if they have not alreadydone so, and there is a window of opportunity allocated to the receivingand processing of game participation requests. At step 1108, the sessioncount is incremented by one and at step 1110, the method 1100 retrievesa list of games mapped to the movie rating according to data availablein the feature content store 376 (FIG. 3) or 276 (FIG. 2B). Method 1100proceeds to step 1112 and the list is filtered based on any additionalexclusion criteria that an exhibitor (e.g., movie theater operator)specifies. According to some embodiments, the exhibitor may exclude fromthe list any games for which an insufficient incentive award is beingoffered by the content providers (i.e., releasers of the demonstrationversion games which comprise the universe of games from which selectionsare made). According to other embodiments, the exhibitor may limit thechoice of games to those which are universally acceptable to all agegroups (consistent with a “G” rating).

The process 1100 then proceeds to step 1114. At step 1114, a defaultselection is made subject to receipt of voting results, if applicable.According to some embodiments, this is done on a random basis or on around robin basis so that each game receives “equal time” with respectto a target demographic. According to some embodiments, a fairnessalgorithm takes into account a number impressions rather than merely thenumber of times a particular game is presented. Data stored in marketdatabase 378 (FIG. 3) for example, can gather statistics on thesocio-demographic composition of the audience exposed to prior pre-showevents and then make a selection for a current game session based on acurrent tickets sold count and predicted audience profile. It sufficesto say that the manner in which a game is selected for a given gamesession of the pre-show event admits of substantial variation. Moreover,as noted previously, if audience members are to be given the opportunityto vote on game selection, the foregoing default selection process maybe bypassed and the filtered list obtained during step 1112 is presenteddirectly to the audience for a vote. Once the selection is made at block1114, the process advances to step 1116. At step 1116 the process 1100determines whether the session count limit has been reached. If so, theprocess returns to step 1012 of FIG. 10. If not, it returns to step 1108and increments by one. The aforementioned retrieval, filtering, anddefault selection steps are repeated and one or more subsequentdeterminations are made at step 1116 until the session count limit isreached.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram exemplifying a process for generating aninstantiation of a multiplayer game and rendering to one or more groupdisplay screens and a plurality of mobile terminals according to one ormore embodiments. More particularly, FIG. 12 is an exemplary process1200 for carrying out the processing user interface events according torules of a game instantiation such as represented by step 834 of process800. As such, the process 1200 begins at step 1202 with a determinationof whether or not intra-theater play (wherein all game participants arelocated within the same audience or at least within the same building)or inter-theater play (where some game participants are part of anaudience in one building and other game participants are part of anaudience in another building.

If at step 1202 it is determined that all game participants are locatedwithin the same audience or theater, then at step 1204 the methodreceives locally transmitted signals containing user interface (UI)commands for use in a local game instantiation. According to someembodiments, the UI commands are entered as a series of touch screenevents as the user operates his or her mobile communication terminalwith reference to a version of the local game instantiation renderedthereon by system 200 (FIG. 2B). Alternatively, the commands are enteredby movements of the device itself. By way of illustration, anaccelerometer within a smart phone generates an output signal such thatrectilinear or curvilinear gestures along a lateral path (side to sidedirection) can be distinguished from rectilinear or curvilinear gesturesalong a vertical path. According to some embodiments, such outputsignals are interpreted by system 200 so that the user may operate themobile terminal as a controller without actually having to rely on themobile terminal display during play.

At step 1206, the process locally determines game results at a localinteractive entertainment server as entertainment server 236 of system200. At step 1208, the process renders game results to frame 14′ of theimage on screen 10′ being one or more local group display screen (FIG.1C). Remaining with embodiments exemplified by FIG. 2, for example,server 240 renders the game results to projector 250 and the frame isrendered to group display screen 210. At block 1210, an instructioncausing the client application being executed, by active participants ina game session, to initiate haptic feedback (e.g., by activating thevibrating module of the mobile communication terminal). According tosome embodiments, game updates such as scores and key milestone events(high score for a level, record completion type, or the like) arepresented to members of the audience via the social networking feedand/or by updates to a high scoring display screen which can be invokedby a user via his or her own terminal. In the former case, the updatesare initiated by transmission of instructions from interactiveentertainment server 236 to a client server such as server 240. Server240 causes projector 250 to project the updated wall feed to the portionof display 10′ reserved for a live social media feed.

If at step 1202, process 1200 determines that intra-building(multi-theater play is scheduled), then the process proceeds to step1214. At step 1214 locally received signals, containing UI commands fromone or more mobile terminals for use in a local game instantiation, aretransmitted to centrally located game server as art of server 370 ofsystem 300 (FIG. 3) for remote determination of results reflecting themulti-theater game instantiation. Continuing with FIGS. 3 and 12, themethod 1200 receives the remotely determined game results at step 1216and causes the game results to be rendered by client servers as clientserver 240 of building 220 and client server 340 of building 320. Thescreens 210 and 310, respectively, are continuously updated byprojection of the rendered game results by servers 240 and 340 byperformance of step 1218. Haptic feedback is transmitted to mobileterminals at step 1220 and game updates are transmitted to the displayedsocial media feed at step 1222. The process then continues todetermination step 836 of method 800 as shown in FIG. 8B.

FIG. 13A shows a schematic representation of the main components of anexample computing platform of a client or mobile device, according tovarious particular embodiments. In particular embodiments, control,computing platform 1300 comprises at least one processor 1302, memory1304, and input/output subsystem as user interface 1306. The at leastone processor 1302 is configured to execute instructions and to carryout operations associated with a computing platform. In variousembodiments, processor(s) 1302 can be implemented as a single chip,multiple chips, and/or other electrical components including one or moreintegrated circuits and printed circuit boards. Processor 1302 mayoptionally contain a cache memory unit for temporary local storage ofinstructions, data or computer addresses. By way of illustration, usinginstructions retrieved from memory, processor 1302 may control thereception and manipulation input and output data between components ofplatform 1300. For example, processor 1302 may include one or moreprocessors or one or more controllers dedicated for certain processingtasks of platform 1300, for example, for 2D/3D graphics processing,image processing, or video processing.

Processor(s) 1302 together with a suitable operating system operate toexecute instructions in the form of computer code and produce and usedata. By way of non-limiting example, the operating system may beWindows-based, Mac-based, or UNIX or Linux based, Android-based, orSymbian-based, among other operating systems. According to embodiments,the operating system, other computer code and/or data are physicallystored within memory 1304 that is operatively coupled to processor 1302.Memory 1304 encompasses one or more storage media and generally providesa place to store computer code (e.g., software and/or firmware) and datathat are used by computing platform 1300. By way of example, memory 1304includes various tangible computer-readable storage media includingRead-Only Memory (ROM) and/or Random-Access Memory (RAM).

As is well known in the art, ROM acts to transfer data and instructionsuni-directionally to processor 1302, and RAM is used typically totransfer data and instructions in a bi-directional manner. Memory 1304can also include one or more fixed storage devices in the form of, byway of example, hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs),flash-memory cards (e.g., Secured Digital or SD cards, embeddedMultiMediaCard or eMMD cards), among other suitable forms of memorycoupled bi-directionally to processor 1302. Information may also resideon one or more removable storage media loaded into or installed incomputing platform 1300 when needed. By way of example, any of a numberof suitable memory cards (e.g., SD cards) may be loaded into mobileterminal platform 1300 on a temporary or permanent basis.

User interface 1306 comprises one or more input and output devicesoperably connected to processor 1302. For example, interface 1306 caninclude one or more buttons, thumb wheel, and/or display (e.g., liquidcrystal display (LCD), light emitting diode (LED), Interferometricmodulator display (IMOD), or any other suitable display technology).Generally, input devices are configured to transfer data, commands andresponses from the outside world into computing platform 1300. Thedisplay 1308 is operatively coupled to processor 1302 and is generallyconfigured to display a graphical user interface (GUI) that provides aneasy to use visual interface between a user of the mobile terminalplatform 1300 and the operating system or application(s) running on themobile device. Generally, the GUI presents programs, files andoperational options with graphical images. During operation, the usermay select and activate various graphical images displayed on thedisplay in order to initiate functions and tasks associated therewith.According to embodiments, user interface 1306 also includes touch baseddevices such as touchpad or touch screen overlay. A touchpad is an inputdevice including a surface that detects touch-based inputs of users.Similarly, a touch screen is a display that detects the presence andlocation of user touch inputs. User interface 1306 may also include dualtouch or multi-touch displays or touchpads that can identify thepresence, location and movement of more than one touch inputs, such astwo or three finger touches.

In particular embodiments, mobile terminal platform 1300 additionallycomprises an audio subsystem (not shown), wireless communicationsubsystem 1310, haptic feedback subsystems 1312, and sensor subsystems1314, operably connected to processor 1302 to facilitate variousfunctions of mobile terminal platform 1300. For example, an audiosubsystem typically includes a speaker, a microphone, and a codec moduleconfigured to process audio signals, and is utilized to facilitatevoice-enabled functions, such as voice recognition, voice replication,digital recording, and telephony functions. Haptic feedback subsystem1312 includes a vibrating element which is typically used for so-calledsilent telephony modes of operation. Wireless communication subsystem1310 can be designed to operate over one or more wireless networks, forexample, a wireless PAN (WPAN) (such as, for example, a BLUETOOTH WPAN,an infrared PAN), a WI-FI network (such as, for example, an802.11a/b/g/n WI-FI network, an 802.11s mesh network), a WI-MAX network,a cellular telephone network (such as, for example, a Global System forMobile Communications (GSM) network, an Enhanced Data Rates for GSMEvolution (EDGE) network, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System(UMTS) network, and/or a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network).Additionally, wireless communication subsystem 1310 may include hostingprotocols such that mobile terminal platform 1300 may be configured as abase station for other wireless devices or as a node in a distributedpeer-to-peer configuration.

Sensor subsystem 1314 may include one or more sensor devices to provideadditional input and facilitate multiple functionalities of mobileterminal platform 1300. According to one or more embodiments, sensorsubsystems 1314 include a GPS sensor for location positioning, anaccelerometer for determining orientation and rate and direction ofmotion of the mobile terminal platform 1300.

Herein, reference to a computer-readable storage medium encompasses oneor more non-transitory, tangible computer-readable storage mediapossessing structure. As an example and not by way of limitation, acomputer-readable storage medium may include a semiconductor-based orother integrated circuit (IC) (such, as for example, afield-programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specific IC(ASIC)), a hard disk, an HDD, a hybrid hard drive (HHD), an opticaldisc, an optical disc drive (ODD), a magneto-optical disc, amagneto-optical drive, a floppy disk, a floppy disk drive (FDD),magnetic tape, a holographic storage medium, a solid-state drive (SSD),a RAM-drive, a SECURE DIGITAL card, a SECURE DIGITAL drive, aMultiMediaCard (MMC) card, an embedded MMC (eMMC) card, or anothersuitable computer-readable storage medium or a combination of two ormore of these, where appropriate. Herein, reference to acomputer-readable storage medium excludes any medium that is noteligible for patent protection under 35 U.S.C. §101 Herein, reference toa computer-readable storage medium excludes transitory forms of signaltransmission (such as a propagating electrical or electromagnetic signalper se) to the extent that they are not eligible for patent protectionunder 35 U.S.C. §101.

Stored within memory 1304 are instructions for implementing the localuser interface functions associated with the operation of mobileterminal platform 1 to process and transmit game control inputs to andreceive, and process haptic feedback returned from, a local or centralinteractive entertainment server according to one or more embodiments.According to particular embodiments, the common instantiation of thegame depicted in one or more group display screens is likewise renderedto display 1308 by execution of client application instructions byprocessor 1302.

FIG. 13B illustrates an example processing stack 1350 of a mobileterminal (e.g., a smart phone) with touch-based input device(s).Hardware layer 1352 is implemented by one or more processors asprocessor 1302 of FIG. 13A and by various hardware input/output devicessuch as a camera, communication interface, and touch-based input device(e.g., touch screen, touchpad, etc.). Drivers layer 1354 includes one ormore drivers that communicate and control hardware layer 1352, forexample, a driver receiving and processing touch input signals generatedby a touch-screen display. Operating system 1356 runs computing programssuch as embodiments of an interactive entertainment client applicationaccording to embodiments and also manages hardware layer 1352 via one ormore drivers in driver layer 1354. Libraries 1358 a and 1358 b includeone or more libraries used by one or more application programs inapplications 1360 (e.g., web browser, address book, and embodiments ofan interactive entertainment client application). For example, touchevents library 1358 a can contain computer program code that interpretstouch inputs to touch events or gestures. Embodiments of a clientapplication program 1362 for transmitting, receiving, processing andrendering game control inputs and outputs in association withembodiments of an interactive entertainment system can access touchevent library 1358 a (e.g., via function calls) and process the gameinstantiation inputs with touch event handlers embedded within theapplication. A browser client or other applications for entering inputassociated with the secondary participant roles of administrator andintervener may also operate in connection with touch event handlerscontained within the context of the client application.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of a process 1400 for using a mobilecommunication terminal of the type depicted in FIGS. 13A and 13B tosupply touch based input during play of an interactive multiplayer gameaccording to one or more embodiments. Process 1400 incorporates some ofthe steps depicted in FIG. 8B, including step 828 for starting,maintaining and displaying to the mobile terminal user a local countdowntimer as part of the UI screen. Control inputs are locked so far as thecommon game instantiation is concerned, but the client applicationexecuting on the active participant's mobile terminal device is fullyprepared to begin processing (generating and transmitting) of controlinput to the interactive entertainment server once the gameinstantiation begins at step 830.

Once the timer decrements to zero and the game starts, as shown in step832 of the method 800 from FIG. 8B, the process of using mobile terminalplatform 1300 (FIG. 13A) as a game controller for a common instantiationbegins at step 1402. At step 1402, process 1400 receives user input viathe user interface displayed to the touch screen of terminal 1306.Optionally, at step 1404, sensory input as produced by an accelerometerand/or camera is also generated. At step 1406, the aforementionedcontrol inputs are generated and transmitted via the wireless interface1310 (FIG. 13A) to a base station associated with the interactiveentertainment server. According to some embodiments, the informationcarried by wireless signals received from multiple terminalsparticipating in a game instantiation is forwarded to local interactiveentertainment server 236 of system 200 (exemplified by FIG. 2). One ormore processors of entertainment server 236 execute locally storedinstruction according to its role as a game server.

According to other embodiments, the information carried by the wirelesssignals received by the base station is forwarded to a localadministrative server, as servers 260 or 360 forming part of system 300in FIG. 3. Each local administrative server forwards the data packetsrepresenting the control input received from the mobile terminals forwhich it is responsible to remote administrative server 372. As notedpreviously, according to some embodiments, remote server 372 providesgame server functionality on a centralized basis to multiple theaterlocations as part of the operation of 300.

Without regard to the manner in which the control input supplied fromthe mobile terminals is processed by a server according to embodimentsof the invention, the process proceeds to step 1408 wherein gameinstantiation updates to be rendered as feedback to each activelyparticipating terminal are received by such terminals. According to thesome embodiments, the client application executing on each mobileterminal processes the feedback so as to cause the display to becontinually updated. In some embodiments, this will match the gameinstantiation being displayed. At step 1410, an optional step ofgenerating and haptic feedback, as by the processor of the mobileterminal executing an instruction to activate its vibrate alerter module(commonly provided in smart phones for so-called silent modes ofoperation), is performed responsive to the feedback wirelessly receivedat the mobile terminal.

In many computer games, there is a virtual world or some other imaginedplaying space where a player/user of the game controls one or moreplayer characters, which can be considered in-game representations ofthe controlling player. A game display can display a representation ofthe character, a partial representation of a character or norepresentation of a character. A game program locally or remotelyexecuting on an interactive entertainment server according to one ormore embodiments accepts inputs from the mobile terminal, determinescharacter actions, decide outcomes of events, adjusts the state of oneor more data objects representing characters, non-player characters andother elements of the game, and continually transmits updates to themobile terminals of active game participants to cause the displaysthereof to render the objects for display.

In many computer games, there are various in-game actions that acharacter can make with a game. For example, a character in a car racinggame can select a particular car the character drives, make variousmaneuvering actions with the car (e.g., left turn, right turn,accelerate, break, etc.), check status of the race (what's the score,how many miles left in the race, course condition, etc.). For example, acharacter in a first person shooting game can select or change a weapon,aim the weapon at a particular target, fire the weapon, reloadammunition, survey the surroundings, make various actions within thebattlefield, etc. A character in an online poker game can play atspecific tables, place bets of virtual currency for certain amounts,play or fold certain hands, play in an online poker tournament, etc.

One or more players can access a computer game hosted by one or more ofthe aforementioned servers by reference to the display projected to thegroup display screen and/or to the display of the mobile terminalitself. For example, a game display can be a graphical user interface ofthe game instantiation as a special-purpose client application or a webbrowser for an online game.

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram of a process 1500 for arranging and presentingsocial network messages to one or more groups having visible access to agroup display screen, according to one or more embodiments. Each of themessages originates at, and is received from, one of a plurality ofmobile devices executing a client application. A server receives themessages and forwards at least some of them to a projector, which inturn projects the messages to the display screen as posts within asocial network “page”. Concurrently, the received messages aretransmitted over a wireless local area network to mobile terminalsexecuting the client application. The client application initiatesdisplay of the messages within a corresponding social network page.

Each message, in some embodiments, has a numeric character limit toaccommodate the simultaneous presentation of ten to twenty messages atone time. By way of illustrative example, a character limit of 150 to200 characters is imposed. In some embodiments, a character limitcompatible with other social network interfaces as, for example,Twitter, is imposed and, if the option is enabled by a user, that user'smessages are simultaneously posted to a Twitter, Facebook or other pagemaintained by the operator of system 200. A uniform resource locator(e.g. an HTML address pointing to a particular web page or frame of aweb page) included within a message allows the mobile terminal userexecuting the social networking feature of the adjunct clientapplication to navigate to the page by opening a companion web browser.In some embodiments, only certain types of messages (e.g., advertisingmessages) are permitted to include a URL, while any messages originatingat a user's mobile terminal and including a URL component areautomatically discarded upon receipt.

According to some embodiments, a message posting frequency limit is alsoapplied to messages originating at any one mobile terminal executing theadjunct client application. In some embodiments, a pre-defined absolutelimit (cap), a window of default duration, or a window having auser-selectable duration of, say, one to five minutes is imposed so thatno one mobile terminal user may dominate the list of messages appearingin the social network page forming part of an interactive preshow. Insome embodiments, a numeric frequency cap or window duration isdynamically determined. The determination is based, in some embodiments,on the number of messages residing in a queue and awaiting projection tothe group display screen. As an example, if there are no messages in aqueue, then a message from a user who would otherwise be in violation ofa frequency cap is eligible for selection and projection to the displayscreen depending on whether any other applicable filter criteria apply.

According to embodiments, and as supported by the multiple panel preshowdisplay configuration exemplified by FIGS. 1A-1C, a subset of themessages are presented to members of a pre-show audience within a socialnetwork panel forming part of a multi-panel preshow display. Theexemplary process of FIG. 15 will be described with reference to thegeneralized system 200, for arranging and presenting an interactivepreshow, shown in FIG. 2A. The process 1500 is started at step 1502 andproceeds to step 1504. At step 1504, a server as local server 204 ofsystem 200, receives social network messages originating at mobileterminal devices 206 executing adjunct client application 298.

According to some embodiments, all of the messages received by themethod at step 1504 are received in real time (i.e., upon beinggenerated and transmitted by a mobile terminal). In some embodiments,some or all of the messages received by the method at step 1504originate from the mobile devices used by members of one or moreaudiences to whom an interactive pre-show is being currently presentedon a group display screen. In some embodiments, however, at least someof the messages received by the method at step 1504 were collected frommembers of one or more audiences of an earlier pre-show. Such non-realtime messages are time stamped at the time of collection, and stored ina database so that they are available for retrieval and inclusion aspart of a subsequent pre-show.

In some embodiments, some of the messages received by method 1500 atstep 1504 are received from any mobile terminal configured to executethe adjunct client application, and without regard to the mobileterminal's location, its user having participated in or seen a pre-showor feature presentation, or any other exclusionary criterion. The methodproceeds to step 1506, where a relevancy filter comprising at least onevariable relevancy criterion for including or excluding some of themessages, received by the method at step 1504, from presentation to agroup display screen according to one or more embodiments.

According to some embodiments, the relevancy filter applied at step 1506of method 1500 includes one or more criteria for including receivedmessages based on their relevancy to an audience attending aninteractive preshow preceding a feature presentation. Illustrativeexamples of variable relevancy criteria for use in including a messagesin a subset of messages identified and selected for presentation to theaudience, according to one or more embodiments, include geographicproximity of the message originator (or a location identified in areceived message) to the location of the applicable group displayscreen(s) (e.g., within a pre-defined radius). Another example of aninclusionary criterion is the presence of one or more key words, in amessage, identified as being relevant to a particular audience. Theidentification of key-words or key-phrases applicable to currentlydisplayed components of the pre-show, or to the feature presentationwith which the pre-show is associated, can be identified in advance andstored in a database for use in the relevancy filter.

According to one or more embodiments, key words and phrases areidentified and stored for each game stored in the game content library.The key words might include the name of the game(s), the game developer,the phrases “highest score” and “new high score”, the username(s) ofcurrent active participants in a pre-show game, the username(s) of oneor more game administrators, and the names of one or more interveners.With respect to a particular pre-show, those key words and phrasescorresponding to a game being concurrently projected to a particularscreen are employed in the relevancy filter applied to messages receivedat step 1504. When evaluating previously stored social network messagesas possible candidates for inclusion in the social network panelaccording to embodiments, those messages including at least one of thekey words are phrases are selected for retrieval according to step 1506.

According to one or more embodiments, other key words and phrases usedin the application of a relevancy filter, as part of step 1506, areidentified for each feature presentation candidate. As has already beendiscussed in connection with FIG. 6, a substantial amount of informationpertaining to each feature presentation title is centrally stored andavailable for use in identifying and selecting messages. In addition tothe tabulated data exemplified by FIG. 6, key words and phrasesincluding the names of actors and actresses, directors, scene locations,products placed in a particular scene at a particular time, and thelike, are stored and indexed in a database of central server 202 (FIG.2A). According to some embodiments, those messages received at step 1504which include one or more of the feature presentation key words aredetermined to satisfy the relevancy filter and are included in thoseselected at step 1506.

According to one or more embodiments, other key words and phrases usedin the application of a relevancy filter, as part of step 1504, areidentified as having high relevance to one or more socio-demographicgroup projected to have higher representation in a particular preshowaudience based on the feature presentation to follow. As has alreadybeen discussed in connection with FIG. 6, a substantial amount ofinformation pertaining to each feature presentation title is centrallystored and available for use in identifying and selecting messages. Inaddition to the tabulated data exemplified by FIG. 6, key words andphrases having high relevance to members of the socio-demographicgroup(s) are stored and indexed in a database of central server 202(FIG. 2A). The key words may be obtained from a variety of sources. Insome embodiments, key words are selected and updated dynamically basedhow often they appear in social network messages originated by membersof the applicable socio-demographic group(s). In an embodiment, the keywords are included if they occur in messages at a frequency above apredetermined threshold. In another embodiment, the key words areincluded if they occur in messages at a frequency which is an n-multipleof an average word frequency, wherein n is an integer greater than 1. Inboth embodiments, commonly used words (e.g., “the”, “and”, “that”, andthe like) are excluded from the frequency computation(s). According tosome embodiments, those messages received at step 1504 which aredetermined to include one or more socio-demographically relevant wordsare determined to satisfy the relevancy filter and are included in thoseselected at step 1506.

According to one or more embodiments, an audience rating value appliedto social network messages previously presented to other audiences isutilized as an inclusionary or an exclusionary filter, during theperformance of step 1504 of method 1500. A positive audience ratingvalue suitable for use in the relevancy filter applied during step 1506includes, for example, a numeric score in the form of a number of“likes” or “thumbs up” awarded by members of a prior audience. Mostrelevant to an audience of a current pre-show might be the ratings orscores awarded by members of an audience who have already seen the samefeature presentation or who have already participated in or watched oneof the games scheduled for (or being currently projected to) the gamepanel of the preshow. Likewise, a negative audience rating valuesuitable for use in the relevancy filter applied during step 1506includes, for example, a numeric score in the form of a number of“dislikes” or “thumbs down” awarded by members of a prior audience.According to some embodiments, those messages received at step 1504which are determined to possess an audience measurement score in excessof a predetermined a threshold are determined to satisfy the relevancyfilter and are included in those selected at step 1506.

Representative examples of variable relevancy criteria for use inexcluding messages received at step 1504 from a subset of messagesidentified for presentation to the audience, according to one or moreembodiments, include geographic remoteness of the message originator (ora location identified in the message) to the location of the groupdisplay screen (e.g., outside a pre-defined radius), the absence of akey word, in a message identified as being relevant to the featurepresentation, the absence of a key word identified as being relevant tocontent being currently presented to a different panel of the projectedpre-show display (e.g., an instantiation of a multi-player game beingplayed or watched by members of the audience), and the absence of a keyword identified as being relevant to a projected socio-demographicprofile of the feature presentation audience.

According to some embodiments, a feature presentation exhibitorpre-defines certain words or phrases as being “off-limits” so far asprojection to applicable group display screens is concerned. Examplesinclude mentioning the name of a competing venue, disparaging terms usedin combination with a product offered by the feature exhibitor, asponsor, or one of its business partners. In this regard, someembodiments provide an exhibitor with options for greater control overthe messages which might otherwise be accepted for presentation to agroup display screen. In one such embodiment, the filtered content isforwarded to a work station monitored by a member of the exhibitor'sstaff. Using a user interface associated with the local server 204 (FIG.2A), the member of staff can view the flow of messages as they exit therelevancy filtering step 1506 and tag any messages for removal beforethey can be forwarded for projection to a screen. A time delay of, forexample, 1-3 minutes can be included for this purpose.

In some embodiments, the step 1506 is performed to select messages forprojection to a group display screen, while a modified filter or nofilter at all is performed when selecting messages for transmission toany mobile terminal devices executing the adjunct client application.Thus, certain messages which might otherwise be omitted from projectionto a group display screen might still be viewed by a mobile terminaluser. In one embodiment, a user may establish a user profile including alist of user names comprising a buddy, wherein messages from a messageoriginator appearing in a user's buddy list are received for display bythe user's mobile terminal, even if some or all of those same messageswere removed from the group display screen. In a variation of thisembodiment, messages which might otherwise be removed by operation ofthe relevancy filter at step 1506, are retained for forwarding andprojection to the group display screen (i.e., the relevancy filteringoperation is “bypassed”) so long as the message was contributed by anauthor who is a member of a buddy group of any member of the pre-showaudience.

In any event, and with continued reference to FIG. 15, the method 1500advances to step 1508, where a social context filter is applied to thesubset of messages identified as being relevant, to an audience withvisible access to a group display screen during a preshow, according tosome embodiments. Representative examples of social context filteringcriteria, for excluding messages from a subset identified and selectedfor presentation to the audience according to one or more embodiments,include the presence of key words identified a priori as beingunacceptable to potential members of a pre-show audience based on therating applicable to the feature presentation it precedes. In someembodiments, a set of words deemed so universally vulgar or offensivethat their appearance in a message results in rejection of that messagefor projection to any group display screen. Such messages are not storedand are not forwarded for projection or display.

The process advances to step 1510. At step 1510, messages filtered forboth relevancy and social context are forwarded for rendering to one ormore group display screen(s) and to mobile terminals executing thesocial network interface of the adjunct client application.

According to some embodiments, advertising messages are selected,arranged and presented to all members of a group, via a social networkpanel projected to a group display screen. To this end, method 1500proceeds to step 1512 where advertising messages are selected andscheduled for presentation to a preshow audience. Each advertisingmessage observes any applicable character limit, but can include auniform resource locator (URL) which enables the user to open an htmlpage containing supplementary information or, in some embodiments, acoupon which can be redeemed. By way of example, the coupon may enablethe mobile terminal user to make a discounted concession purchase in ane-commerce transaction. According to an embodiment, instructions forinvoking an e-commerce order entry component of the client applicationto consummate a discounted concession purchase are included in theadvertising message, or on a web page corresponding to a URL embeddedtherein.

According to some embodiments, advertising messages are identified andselected, during step 1512, by reference to the socio-demographicinformation available for the feature presentation which is preceded bythe preshow. As an example, and with momentary reference to theexemplary data tabulated FIG. 6, it may be determined that the featurepresentation has a very high ratio of children to adults as is the case,for example, with feature presentation M₉. In this instance, anadvertisement for a toy, perhaps even for toy merchandise associatedwith the feature presentation itself (e.g., an action figure), may beselected and presented by projection to the group display screen.

In some embodiments, advertising messages identified and selected forprojection to the group display screen are also displayed by mobileterminals executing the social networking feature of the adjunct clientapplication. According to some embodiments, targeted advertisingmessages are also identified for presentation to such mobile terminalusers. To this end, method 1500 proceeds to step 1514 where advertisingmessages are selected and scheduled for targeted presentation tospecific mobile terminals but not to a preshow audience as a group. Asbefore, each advertising message observes any applicable character limitand can include a uniform resource locator (URL) which enables the userto open an html page.

In some embodiments, the targeted advertising message(s) intended for aparticular user's mobile terminal are sent during a preshow and, aswell, after the conclusion of the feature presentation. In the formercase, step 1514 includes evaluating the user profile of a user which, inan embodiment, includes one or more socio-demographic characteristics ofthe user (e.g., gender, age group, neighborhood), and a record of theuser's history of purchases made via the client application as, forexample, theater concessions, mobile device games and applications,sound tracks associated with a movie, and the like. In this way,customized offers fulfilled by the concession operation of an exhibitorare extended to users on an individual basis. In the latter case, step1514 includes referencing the same socio-demographic characteristics asbefore, but also takes into consideration aspects of the featurepresentation. For example, in a romantic comedy, particular articles offootwear and clothing worn by one of the star performers may be offeredto selected members of the audience immediately after a movie. In anembodiment, a targeted advertisement incorporates a link (URL) orthumbnail image which includes a screenshot of the scene showcasing theparticular article. Such advertising, which further includes a link toan e-commerce site where the article is available for purchase, may beespecially effective immediately after a movie, particularly if therecipient of the message has a distinct recollection of the subjectarticle(s). Similar offers may be made with respect to music playedduring a game or feature presentation.

In each of steps 1512 and 1514, respectively identified ad messages arescheduled for presentation as group display ads and targeted displayads, as the case may be. From step 1514, the method 1500 advances todetermination step 1516. At step 1516, method 1500 determines whether ornot a group display ad is presently scheduled for projection to thegroup display screen. If so, at step 1518 the method forwards the groupadvertising message(s) for rendering to one or more group displayscreens. With momentary reference to FIG. 2B, for example, messages arereceived at a client assembly server (e.g., server 240) which renders,to an associated projector, the messages comprising the social networkpanel of a preshow display. If not, at determination step 1520, it isdetermined whether a targeted display ad is presently scheduled forprojection to the group display screen. If so, method 1500 forwards, atstep 1522, a targeted advertising message to each mobile terminalexecuting the social network interface of the client application. Ifnot, the process advances to step 1524. At step 1524, the methoddetermines whether or not a preshow session is over. If so, the processterminates at step 1526. If, however, the session is not over, then themethod returns to step 1504, to continue receiving, identifying andarranging social network and advertising messages as part of aninteractive preshow.

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram of a method 1600 for performing marketresearch utilizing a system configured to arrange and presentinteractive preshow sessions to one or more audiences of a singletheater, according to one or more embodiments. Surveys are sent to oneor more groups of uses according some embodiments. One group receiving asurvey according to some embodiments include those who have used amobile terminal device to participate in a pre-show session game, aswell as those who watched the game being played by others during apre-show session. In an embodiment, users who downloaded a fullcommercial version of a game, as compared to a limited “trial” versionadapted for presentation in a preshow session, are invited toparticipate in the same or a different survey than the other mobileterminal users identified above. In some embodiments, surveys areforwarded to all individuals who have seen a feature presentation andpossess a mobile terminal configured to receive an invitation to becomea survey respondent and to invoke a survey response interface of theclient application.

In an embodiment, launch of the application presents the user with aseries of menu choices including (1) participating in a pre-show gamevia a game player option (2) creating, posting and reviewing socialnetwork messages via a social network interface, (3) ordering items viaan e-commerce transaction interface, and (4) participating in a surveyvia a survey response interface. According to some embodiments, theinvitation is sent as soon as the point in time at which the featuredcontent was scheduled to end. In other embodiments, however, theinvitation is before or after that scheduled end point. In the formercase, an invitation is sent prior to the feature ending time only if thesystem determines that the mobile terminal of the prospective respondentwas in the theater for at least a predetermined or selectable intervalin excess of the pre-show (e.g., 1 hour or more) or a predetermined orselectable percentage of the total movie duration (e.g., from 35% to100% of the total duration of the movie and/or pre-show).

In some embodiments, the timing of the invitation and/or submissionrequested response is determined by the expiration of a countdown timer.In the former case, the timer begins from the scheduled end time of themovie or other featured content. By way of example, the countdown tosending the invitation may be from 0 to 120 minutes from the point atwhich film credits are projected to the applicable group display screen.

An invitation to respond to a survey may be sent by e-mail, an SMS textmessage, or even as a post to the “wall” frame of a social networkingapplication. In one or more embodiments, the client applicationdownloaded to and executing on the user's mobile terminal is used toinvoke a survey screen. The survey questions are uploaded by a contentprovider, exhibitor, advertiser, or other interested part via aworkstation (not shown) communicatively coupled by the communicationnetwork 262 to the central administration server. Survey responsesentered via the client application are collected and, optionally,anonymized by assignment of a unique identifier from which the identityof a user cannot be derived. The anonymized or non-anonymized responsesare stored in a market data database of central server 202 (FIG. 2A) inconnection with various socio-demographic data associated with the user.

To the extent interested parties (e.g., content providers andadvertisers) may place a higher value is placed on fresh recollections,an incentive in the form, for example, as a coupon redeemable formerchandise and/or award points redeemable for future gameparticipation, is awarded in some embodiments. In some embodiments, theincentive applies when the user makes a valid response to an invitationprior to expiration of a predetermined interval as, for example, 15 to40 minutes from transmission or receipt of the invitation. By way ofalternate example, the invitation may define an expiration time measuredfrom a point coinciding with or shortly after the end of the featurepresentation. As used herein, a response to a survey means that the userhas either clicked on a link, as contained in a transmitted invitation,or invoked the survey module of the client application. A response isdeemed valid by the survey module if the survey, once begun by the userin the foregoing manner, is completed during one session.

The method 1600 is entered at step 1602 and proceeds to step 1604, wherea user desiring to create a survey and solicit enrollment of respondentsis authenticated and authorized to do so. Typically, this involves aconventional authentication process in which the user sends credentialssuch as a user name and password. In an embodiment, if the user isdetermined to possess the correct credentials for accessing a surveycredential creation program executing at a central server, authorizedaccess is granted and the process advances to step 1606. At step 1606,the method 1600 receives a collection of survey questions from at leastone user. A single survey can include questions created and submitted bymore than one authorized user. As one example, a survey can include anycombination of the following: one or more questions submitted by thedeveloper of a first game presented during a preshow, one or morequestions submitted by the developer of a second game presented duringthe preshow, one or more questions submitted by the producer ordistributor of the feature presentation, one or more questions submittedby advertisers, and one or more questions submitted by the featurecontent exhibitor as, for example, the operator of a movie theater,

Method 1600 proceeds to step 1607, where audiences are identified asbeing relevant to a survey. Relevance, with respect to an audience,refers to whether or not all of the questions of a survey are applicableto that audience. Where a survey has already been constructed and thesame set of questions must be asked of all respondents in a particularorder, method 1600 excludes certain audiences at step 1607 if one ormore of the questions do not apply. By way of illustration, a questionpertaining to a game that was not played in a preshow session, or to adifferent feature presentation than the one seen by an audience, is notapplicable to that audience and exclusion from participation isappropriate. In other embodiments, method 1600 constructs a survey fromquestions received at step 1606 constructed after one or more audiencesare identified.

Method 1600 proceeds to determination step 1608, where the methoddetermines if a feature presentation is over. If so, a timer is startedat block 1610 and invitations are sent to prospective respondents. Ifnot, the process returns to step 1607 to identify any other potentialaudiences. The selection of respondents of an audience, to whominvitations to participate in a survey, depends upon the surveymethodology being employed. In some embodiments, a pure “opt-in” modelis adopted wherein all individuals having a mobile terminal configuredwith a client application are invited to participate. In someembodiments, the invitations are sent, at step 1612, as an e-mail or SMSmessage and include a URL by which the user opens a web page forproviding the applicable responses. In other embodiments, the responsesare furnished via a survey interface of the client application. At step1614, the method collects the responses from the respondents and, atstep 1616, forwards them to a market research database for storage. Theprocess proceeds to determination block 1618.

At determination block 1618, method 1600 determines whether or not adeadline set for response to the survey has been reached. In someembodiments, a high value is placed on fast responses so a time outperiod is used for the purpose of enabling sensitivity to timelinesswhen evaluating survey results. Incentive award points, as describedelsewhere in this specification, are awarded to respondents to encouragesuch responsiveness. If the method determines at step 1616 that acut-off or time out has not yet been reached, the process returns tostep 1614. If, however, the cut-off is reached, then the processadvances to step 1620. At step 1620, in some embodiments, method 160continues collecting responses from respondents after the cut-off ortime out period which began counting down at step 1610. While there maybe preference for quick survey response time, even delayed responses mayhave significant value to the submitter of one or more surveyquestion(s). Thus, in some embodiments, method 1600 time stamps all ofthe responses collected at 1614 and 1622. In some embodiments, thelatter responses are stored in a separate database and in others theyare combined in one storage location.

At step 1624, a statistically representative sample of a relevantpopulation, reflecting, for example, a projected socio-demographiccomposition of an audience, is selected by reference to a centrallystored user profile corresponding to each user. The process proceeds tostep 1626, where a report of the survey results are generated at therequest of a user or are made available to all users on a syndicated(subscription basis). At step 1628, the generated survey report istransmitted to one or more users. The process then terminates at step1630.

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram of a method 1700 for facilitating thedevelopment, market testing and commercial launch of programs executableon a mobile terminal or other device characterized by a display and userinterface, according to embodiments. In some embodiments, a suite ofdevelopment tools, source code, and instructions are provided as asoftware development kit (SDK) to facilitate the rapid development andcommercial introduction of new games. In some embodiments, these toolsfacilitate the development of new games or the customization ormodification of pre-existing games so as to make them suitable forpresentation to audiences as part of an interactive pre-game session. T

Method 1700 starts at step 1702 and proceeds to step 1704, where a setof rules, for use by game developers in developing games suitable forpresentation to group display screens according to embodiments, aredefined. In some embodiments the rules defined at step 1704 include aset of available instructions or touch screen input commands which canbe received from the mobile terminals of active game participants andprocessed within a multiplayer game environment, the maximum latencyassociated with such steps as sending a command from an active player'sterminal over a local wireless network, receiving the command at a gameserver, updating the game environment to reflect execution of thereceived instruction or command, and transmitting any haptic feedbackfrom the game server back to the user. In some embodiments, rulesdefined by method 1700 at step 1704 include a minimum number ofsimultaneous active competitors which must be accommodated during alocal multiplayer game instantiation, a minimum number of administratorroles, a limit on the amount of time needed to complete one “round” orlevel of a game, and a limit on the number of rounds or levels which canbe played during an instantiation of a game.

The process proceeds to step 1706, where a game developer enters anauthentication and authorization process by furnishing user credentialssuch as user name and password. In an embodiment, the game developersigns onto a server to request access to game development resources,including a library containing an API for accessing the multiplayer gameserver environment. Typically, the user credentials include a user nameand password, which are checked against credentials forming part of auser account record established during a prior registration process. Insome embodiments, the game developer is provided with the set of rulesdefined at step 1704 as part of the aforementioned registration process.At the successful completion of the authentication and authorizationstep 1706, the process advances to step 1708.

At step 1708, the method 1700 downloads elements of the softwaredevelopment kit, including one or more libraries, command sets, andother resources useful in the development of games adapted for executionin a multiplayer gaming environment. In some embodiments, themultiplayer game server which hosts the gaming environment is configuredto accept a default set of commands and instructions from gamesdeveloped for the Google Android and Apple iPhone and iPad userenvironments. Such embodiments are especially well suited to situationswhere the game developer is almost ready to launch a commercial versionof a game but wishes, before doing so, to engage in pre-launch marketacceptance testing, market research, test marketing, or even develop a“buzz” in a community of users before committing to a full scale launch.In this case, a game developer need only modify the pre-existing game soas comply with the rules identified in step 1704, thereby creating a“preshow demo” version of the game. As part of an interactive preshowsession, the demo version is downloaded, in some embodiments, to themobile terminals of the active participants.

The process 1700 advances to step 1710, where a game developer submits agame for evaluation as a candidate for inclusion in an interactivepreshow according to embodiments. The game is stored in a temporarydatabase associated with a “test bed” designed to emulate the groupdisplay screen environment. According to embodiments, test bedenvironment includes all of the components shown in FIG. 2A, i.e., agame server, wireless local area network for communicatively couplingone or more terminals to the game server, and a client assemblyincluding a server configured to render the game instantiation to aprojector, as well as the projector and group display screen.

In some embodiments, a review panel is entrusted with the task ofevaluating a game for compliance with the rules defined at step 1704 isrecruited from a pool of qualified game evaluators. In some embodiments,one or more reviewers receive compensation and, in exchange, must supplytheir availability, by the hour and day so that a game evaluation can beautomatically scheduled, by execution of an automated schedulingprogram, according to embodiments of method 1700. Each reviewerpossesses, in some embodiments, a mobile terminal configured to executethe client application. In some embodiments, the panel includes only asingle “expert” evaluator, who is familiar with the rules to which allgames must adhere. In other embodiments, a multiple member panel led bysuch an expert is recruited for each evaluation. The process ofselecting a panel to evaluate games for compliance is performed bymethod 1700 at step 1712.

In some embodiments, the testing of games submitted for evaluation isconducted at movie theaters, rather than a dedicated test bed facility.In this instance, at least some members of an evaluation panel arecompensated for their time or offered incentive award points which canbe redeemed for merchandise, priority in the participant selectionprocess during a game show, or other suitable rewards. In someembodiments, a panel is selected automatically through execution of anautomatic recruitment program. Each person owning a mobile terminalconfigured to execute the client application and, in some embodiments, a“preshow session demo game” submitted for evaluation, submits theirhourly availability to the recruitment program. Also submitted are hoursof theater availability defining when a theater and personnel areavailable for game testing. The automatic recruitment program selectsthe time and place of game evaluation, as well as the number and orderof game(s) to be evaluated.

At step 1714, a game uploaded by a game developer is received at a testbed or a local game server and is stored pending completion of anevaluation. One or more members of an evaluation panel compete in amultiple player game, and the process proceeds to step 1716. At step1716, method 1700 receives and stores the results of the evaluation. Ifthe data collected and evaluated by method 1700 at step 1716 results ina determination that the candidate game is not in compliance, theprocess advances to step 1718 and method 1700 generates a deficiencyreport which, at step 1720 is transmitted automatically to the gamedeveloper and other stakeholders. At the conclusion of step 1720, or ifthe outcome of the evaluation at step 1716 is favorable, a surveyrequesting more information relating to the game is transmitted at step1722. In some embodiments, the panel recruited for evaluation at step1712 is sufficiently larger and socio-demographically representative ofthe target customer base as to provide additional details of interest toa game developer. Alternatively, a separate panel is recruited or asurvey is sent to members of all audiences who played the pre-show demoversion of the subject game as part of a preshow session. Once method1700 receives an indication that the game has been approved, a gamedeveloper (or one or more members of an evaluation panel) is prompted atstep 1724 to enter game specific criteria for use in game selection(filtering) including, for example, game genre, the number ofparticipants assignable to each role of the game, and the like. At step1726, an approved game is automatically transferred from temporarystorage to a game content library, thereby becoming eligible forinclusion in any pre-show session according to various embodimentsdescribed herein. Thereafter, the process 1700 is terminated at block1728.

The embodiments of the present invention may be embodied as methods,apparatus, electronic devices, and/or computer program products.Accordingly, the embodiments of the present invention may be embodied inhardware and/or in software (including firmware, resident software,micro-code, etc.), which may be generally referred to herein as a“circuit” or “module”. Furthermore, embodiments of the present inventionmay take the form of a computer program product on a computer-usable orcomputer-readable storage medium having computer-usable orcomputer-readable program code embodied in the medium for use by or inconnection with an instruction execution system. In the context of thisdocument, a computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be anymedium that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport theprogram for use by or in connection with the instruction executionsystem, apparatus, or device. These computer program instructions mayalso be stored in a computer-usable or computer-readable memory that maydirect a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus tofunction in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored inthe computer usable or computer-readable memory produce an article ofmanufacture including instructions that implement the function specifiedin the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, for example butnot limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagationmedium. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of thecomputer-readable medium include the following: hard disks, opticalstorage devices, a transmission media such as those supporting theInternet or an intranet, magnetic storage devices, an electricalconnection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,and a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM).

Computer program code for carrying out operations of embodiments of thepresent invention may be written in an object oriented programminglanguage, such as Java®, Smalltalk or C++, and the like. However, thecomputer program code for carrying out operations of embodiments of thepresent invention may also be written in conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language and/or anyother lower level assembler languages. It will be further appreciatedthat the functionality of any or all of the program modules may also beimplemented using discrete hardware components, one or more ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or programmed Digital SignalProcessors or microcontrollers.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific embodiments. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit embodiments of the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Manymodifications and variations are possible in view of the aboveteachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to bestexplain the principles of the present disclosure and its practicalapplications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to bestutilize embodiments of the invention and various embodiments withvarious modifications as may be suited to the particular usecontemplated.

The methods described herein may be implemented in software, hardware,or a combination thereof, in different embodiments. In addition, theorder of methods may be changed, and various elements may be added,reordered, combined, omitted, modified, etc. All examples describedherein are presented in a non-limiting manner. Various modifications andchanges may be made as would be obvious to a person skilled in the arthaving benefit of this disclosure. Realizations in accordance withembodiments have been described in the context of particularembodiments. These embodiments are meant to be illustrative and notlimiting. Many variations, modifications, additions, and improvementsare possible. Accordingly, plural instances may be provided forcomponents described herein as a single instance. Boundaries betweenvarious components, operations and data stores are somewhat arbitrary,and particular operations are illustrated in the context of specificillustrative configurations. Other allocations of functionality areenvisioned and may fall within the scope of claims that follow. Finally,structures and functionality presented as discrete components in theexample configurations may be implemented as a combined structure orcomponent. These and other variations, modifications, additions, andimprovements may fall within the scope of embodiments as defined in theclaims that follow.

While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention,other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised withoutdeparting from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof isdetermined by the claims that follow.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computer implemented method for arrangingand presenting interactive preshow sessions to an audience, comprising:receiving a plurality of social network messages, each originating fromone of a plurality of mobile devices executing a client application,wherein at least some users of the mobile devices have visible access toa group display screen during a pre-show preceding a featurepresentation; forwarding at least some of the social network messages toa projector; projecting at least some of the social network messages tothe group display screen for viewing by all members of an audience aspart of the pre-show; and selecting a subset of the received pluralityof social network messages for the projecting, wherein selecting thesubset includes applying a context filter comprising at least onevariable exclusion criterion based on at least one of an audienceacceptability rating of the feature presentation or a time of day of thepre-show.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the subset furtherincludes applying a relevancy filter comprising at least one variablerelevancy criterion to at least one of include social network messageshaving a higher probability of relevance to the audience and excludesocial network messages having a lower probability of relevance to theaudience.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one variablerelevancy criterion is at least one of geographic location of the groupdisplay screen, a projected socio-demographic profile of audiences forthe feature presentation, and a genre of the feature presentation. 4.The method of claim 2, wherein selecting the subset further includesapplying the context filter to a subset of social network messagesobtained by application of the relevancy filter.
 5. The method of claim1, further including identifying an advertising message according to asocio-demographic profile of the audience.
 6. The method of claim 5,further including forwarding, at a pre-determined time, the advertisingmessage: to the projector, for projection of the advertising message asa social network message within a panel projected to the group displayscreen, and to each respective mobile terminal executing the clientapplication, for initiating display, on a corresponding mobile terminaldisplay, of the advertising message.
 7. The method of claim 1, furtherincluding identifying a first advertising message according to asocio-demographic profile of a first individual member of the pre-showaudience using a first mobile terminal executing the client application;and identifying a second advertising message according to asocio-demographic profile of a second individual member of the pre-showaudience using a second mobile terminal executing the clientapplication.
 8. The method of claim 7, further including initiatingdisplay of targeted advertising messages on corresponding mobileterminals of members of a pre-show audience by: forwarding to the firstmobile terminal executing the client application, at a predeterminedtime, the first advertising message; and forwarding to the second mobileterminal executing the client application, at the predetermined time,the second advertising message.
 9. A system for providing forms ofinteractive entertainment to a group in visible proximity to a groupdisplay screen, comprising: at least one server having an interfaceoperative to receive messages from a plurality of mobile terminals, theat least one server comprising: a group display screen content generatorthat generates a selected subset of messages received from the pluralityof mobile terminals to be displayed on at least some of the plurality ofmobile terminals and the group display screen during a preshow precedingprojection of a feature presentation having an associated genre andprojected audience socio-demographic profile, wherein the group displayscreen content generator includes a social network message selectormodule that forwards information associated with the selected subset ofmessages to a projector to display on the group display screen, andwherein the social network message selector is configured to apply acontext filter comprising at least one variable exclusion criterionbased on at least one of an audience acceptability rating of the featurepresentation or a time of day of the pre-show.
 10. The system of claim9, wherein the social network message selector is further configured toapply a relevancy filter comprising at least one variable relevancycriterion.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one variablerelevancy criterion includes a distance between one of an originator ofa message or a location identified in a message to a location of thegroup display screen.
 12. The system of claim 10, wherein the at leastone variable relevancy criterion is based on a presence of one or morepre-defined keywords in the messages, wherein the social network messageselector is configured to include only messages containing at least oneof the one or more pre-defined key words.
 13. The system of claim 10,wherein the at least one variable relevancy criterion is based on anabsence of one or more pre-defined keywords in the messages, wherein thesocial network message selector is configured to exclude messages notcontaining a pre-defined key word.
 14. A system for providing forms ofinteractive entertainment to a group in visible proximity to a groupdisplay screen, comprising: at least one server having an interfaceoperative to receive messages from a plurality of mobile terminals, theat least one server comprising: and a group display screen contentgenerator that generates a selected subset of messages received from theplurality of mobile terminals to be displayed on at least some of theplurality of mobile terminals and the group display screen during apreshow preceding projection of a feature presentation having anassociated genre and projected audience socio-demographic profile,wherein the group display screen content generator includes a socialnetwork message selector module that forwards information associatedwith the selected subset of messages to a projector to display on thegroup display screen, wherein the social network message selector isconfigured to apply a relevancy filter comprising at least one variablerelevancy criterion, and wherein the at least one variable relevancycriterion includes an audience rating value assigned to a message bymembers of a prior group who have already seen at least one of thefeature presentation or a multi-player game being projected to adifferent part of the display screen as part of the preshow.
 15. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein the social context filter includes at leastone social acceptability criterion.
 16. The system of claim 9, whereinthe social network message selector is further configured to select atleast one advertising message for forwarding, during the preshow, to theprojector and mobile terminals.
 17. The system of claim 9, wherein thesocial network message selector is further configured to select at leastone advertising message for forwarding, during the preshow, to a subsetof mobile terminals.
 18. The system of claim 14, wherein the socialnetwork message selector is configured to apply a social context filtercomprising at least one social acceptability criterion.
 19. The systemof claim 14, wherein the social network message selector is furtherconfigured to select at least one advertising message for forwarding,during the preshow, to the projector and mobile terminals.
 20. Thesystem of claim 14, wherein the social network message selector isfurther configured to select at least one advertising message forforwarding, during the preshow, to a subset of mobile terminals.